Delayed Regret
by CheekyBrunette
Summary: Sometimes people do bad things and fix it immediately. Sometimes it takes a while to realize they've done wrong. And Kurt?  Kurt took forever, and Blaine had to pay for it. Rather angsty Klaine, and lots of cute, caring Warblers.
1. Prologue

**Hmmm… I should stop starting Klaines and start finishing some BTR things… that's okay. I'll go on a writing spree this weekend. I vow on my life.**

**Prologue:**

It's not like Blaine didn't know. Oh gosh… He knew.

How could he not? He loved Kurt. He noticed everything he did, from the way he sometimes kneaded his lips together and then pressed them into a thin line when asked a question to the way he brushed his thumb over his own when they were holding hands but he still felt lonely. Blaine knew him. He noticed. He noticed when Kurt turned away just a little when they were talking and met eyes with Sam. He noticed how much effort it took the senior to look back to him. He noticed that their hands didn't touch, let alone link together like they were supposed to.

And Blaine knew. He knew because date night was once every two weeks now opposed to every other night. He knew because Kurt didn't bother to constantly run his hands through his hair when they were together anymore, but he did the second Sam walked into the room. Like he didn't care enough to look nice for Blaine, but Sam was important. He knew because Kurt hadn't kissed him more than a peck in the past week.

Blaine loved Kurt. He noticed because he loved him, he knew because he loved him, and he completely ignored it because _he loved him_. So much it hurt. So Blaine didn't call Kurt out when he was "too busy" to go out with him. He didn't say anything when he had to wave a hand in front of his face to get his own boyfriend's attention during glee club. He soaked up every kiss he could get, treating the weak brush against his cheek like they were all he could ever conceive of deserving.

He didn't go down without a fight, though. Blaine pulled out every trick in the book, striving to win Kurt over, to be his and his only. He made every date Kurt graced him with as intricate and romantic as possible. He tried to dress better and maybe a bit sexier, not like his dumb little bowties could ever be considered provocative, but he did try. He was leaving class early and arriving late to walk with him. He was giving him all of his time and energy. He was hitting the gym as much as possible without interrupting precious Kurt time. As they neared their last few months as a couple, he was even letting himself grow thin. Maybe he needed to be skinnier. Maybe that could fix things…

But apparently it couldn't. Because Kurt just _had _to make it unavoidable. He had to ruin everything.

* * *

><p>It was a Wednesday, and Blaine had been walking into the choir room when he saw them. Kurt was sitting on the piano, Sam's hands on his hips and his own trailing up and down the blonde's back. They were kissing in a way Blaine hadn't in a long time.<p>

And that's when he fell apart.

He couldn't do this anymore. "Kurt?" he squeaked, his voice sounding far to crestfallen, even to his own ears. He had known. He had _known_, but… Oh gosh. This was different. This was real. This was in front of him… Kurt. His Kurt.

The older boy pulled away, giggling a bit as Sam continued to nibble at his neck. He turned to face Blaine, only to pale as white as a sheet of loose leaf the second he saw him (minus the blue and red lines). "Crap. Sam, back off," Kurt told him, pushing the football player away with his hands on his pecs. Sam smiled hungrily as he fumbled away, but the grin quickly fell away when he caught sight of Blaine.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked again, as if he didn't know it was him. As if he couldn't see him. As if he _hadn't_ seen _them_. Together. Kissing. Like Blaine was supposed to. Like Blaine hadn't been. His stomach twisted. "Kurt?" He was getting hysterical, and he could tell. He tried to ask what was happening, what this meant, but Blaine couldn't figure out how to say anything but his boyfriend's name. The boyfriend he was bettering himself for, the one constantly on my mind. "Wha- Wha…?" He struggled to ask, but he couldn't work the words out as he started hyperventilating.

"Blaine, sweetie, calm down," Kurt told him, reaching out and holding his shoulders. Blaine immediately tore himself away, fear sweeping over his entire body for some reason. But… this was Kurt. Kurt was supposed to be what made the fear go away. Kurt was supposed to be there for him. He was his everything. He was supposed to be his. He was perfect. Blaine suddenly wondered where all the air had rushed off to.

He felt his face crumple and his chin tremble. "What did I do?" he asked, and there was that whole "pressing his lips together" thing again. Kurt just looked at him guiltily; mouth in a thin, straight line, and Blaine could feel his pulse beating in his ears. When his boyfriend (ex?) didn't answer, he changed the question. "_What can I do?_" he asked, grabbing Kurt's hand and sounding horribly pathetic and desperate.

"Blaine, I-" Kurt started, but Blaine changed his mind. He didn't want an answer. He didn't want to hear it. A sob echoed throughout the choir room, cutting Kurt off. Blaine figured it must have been from him, but he wasn't really sure. His stomach twisted as he met Kurt's eyes, and suddenly, being in the same room as him sounded too hard.

So he left.

Blaine pivoted on his heel, running out through the door, where naturally all the other glee members were gathered on their way into the room. They must have stopped to watch the drama unfold… Lovely. His mental breakdown had earned an audience.

The second Blaine turned the corner he slowed to a stop. He wasn't exactly sure where to go. He let himself wander aimlessly before collapsing in an empty classroom. He wiped his cheeks with the hem of his sleeve, alarmed when it came back sopping wet. How long had he been crying for? He scrubbed his eyes in the crook of his elbow, rooting into his pocket for his phone. He hit speed dial, trying to eliminate the shaking, depressed ring in his voice. Finally, a cackling on the other side of the line indicated someone had picked up. "Blaine?" He gasped.

"Mom? I think I made a terrible mistake…"

**So how was that? Lovely? I can't decide if I want them to get back together in the end. My inner Klainer is screaming for me to hook 'em up and marry them off, but my inner girl is like "NO! RELATIONSHIPS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD!" and whipping out Chad Eastham all over the place.**

**So what would you like?**


	2. Back To Class

**Ah. Okay. This one I'm excited about. And, yes, I know Wes was a senior or whatever, but… I'm pulling an Ouran. I can't bear the thought of any of the Warblers not being there, so we're just gonna have them **_**not**_** graduate… yup.**

"BLAINE-A-BEE!" Jeff yelped, tackling him to the ground and bringing all of his bags down with them in the center of Dalton's foyer. "I MISSED YOU!" he crooned, nuzzling his cheek against Blaine's face and hugging him as tight as feasibly possible. Luckily, Nick grabbed him by the collar and tugged him off before he could suffocate him. Blaine stood up a bit tipsily as Nick scolded the tall blonde.

"We talked about this," he hissed to his best friend, and Jeff's eyes lit up in remembrance. Oh yeah. Things weren't so peachy in the Klaine universe anymore. His cheeks flushed as Nick hit his arm, and scratched the back of his neck as Nick wrapped Blaine up in a far gentler hug. "I'm really sorry," he said empathetically, and Blaine just bit his lip, shrugging.

"I don't want to think about it…" he said, and Jeff could practically _feel_ the heartbreak. Crap. This was worse than he thought. A close look at Blaine's face revealed red eyes and a nose to match, looking as if he had been crying during the entire drive over to Dalton. His suitcases were still scattered around his feet, and Blaine didn't seem to be interested in picking them up, so Jeff slung one of the two duffle bags over his shoulder and grabbed the handle of his rolling suitcase, while Nick snagged his other duffle. Jeff bit his lip.

"Okay… whelp. I know you just got back, and you haven't even managed to put this stuff in your room yet, but we have Warbler's practice. Sorry, it's so soon…" he trailed off awkwardly, and Blaine noticeably paled. The fakest smile Jeff had ever seen (and that was saying something since he had roomed with freaking _Nathan_ freshman year) spread out on the younger boy's face, his chin quaking a bit and his knuckles whitening on the strap of his messenger bag.

"Oh. Okay. I understand, I just…" Blaine trailed off, and Jeff nodded. He was probably feeling too upset to sing or something. He turned to Nick.

"It started like," he glanced at his watch, "now-ish, so we should probably head over," he said, turning and walking down the hall, and was confused when after a minute, Blaine hadn't moved. "Are you coming?" he asked, and Blaine's entire face lit up. The kid was an anime character…

"I'm invited?" he asked hopefully, and Nick laughed.

"Are you a Warbler?" he asked, swishing his dark hair out of his eyes and smiling his million-watt smile. Despite this, however, Blaine's face fell, his eyes looking downcast.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just-" he started, but something clicked in Jeff's brain before he could finish.

"Dude," he interrupted, beckoning him with one hand and putting an arm around his shoulder, "Once a Warbler, always a Warbler. We kicked Sebastian out to get your spot back for you and everything!" Jeff said enthusiastically. Blaine arched an eyebrow, so Nick explained.

"It wasn't that big of a deal. Wes hated him. He could 'never sing songs like they were his own' and he 'somehow sounded calculated and like a moron at the same time'," he quoted, "because of it. Wes was having conniptions, like, every two seconds. You're doing us all a favor. One more lecture, and I think my ears would have fallen off in a bleeding mess on the floor," he assured him, and it was insane how Blaine's mood had shifted.

"YES! Awesome! Cause I had been thinking awhile ago about all these songs I wish I could have sang, and, oh, Nicky! I have the _perfect_ song for you! I thought of it after 'Uptown Girl'. You're going to love it, and you can sing it with Jeff! It'll be perfect for your voices, we just have to do some arranging, and that's not a big deal. And Wes had been talking about doing…" Blaine went on, and Jeff couldn't help but felt like they dodged a giant bullet.

At some point during the _very_ one-sided conversation, Jeff managed to lock eyes with Nick, and a bit of relief passed between the two of them. Blaine had an exponentially large smile plastered on his face as he explained all of his ideas. The kid really did love music… and the Warblers… His nose was still tinged pink, but Jeff wasn't worried about it anymore. This was the Blaine he knew.

But at the same time, it wasn't.

Because Jeff couldn't help but notice the way the curly haired boy's blazer hung far loser around him than it should have, and he saw the giant bags under his friend's eyes. Once again, he locked eyes with Nick, and it was obvious he had noticed to. Their little Blaine-a-bee was messed up, and they didn't like it.

* * *

><p>"It's seriously great to have you back, Blaine," Wes said, donning the younger boy's bed with perfect hospital corners as he managed to cram his clothes into their shared closet. Blaine somehow managed to be neat in a very, very sloppy way. Everything managed to get where it needed to be, just in the wrong order and occasionally upside-down.<p>

He was weird to room with.

"I know!" he chirped, struggling to stuff a Dalton-issued button-down on one of the padded hangers. Blaine was wincing as he did it, and Wes mimicked, knowing how gross it felt to have your fingernails run over the foam. It was only one of his least favorite things ever. Worse than having them go up against a paper towel… ugh. "It's also kind of weird… but in a good way. It sucked living at home, I was always running out of stuff," he said, and Wes nodded.

Plus to living with 100 other guys: There was always someone to borrow/steal from.

Negative: Practically ten-second showers with water from barely melting icebergs.

Then, suddenly, Blaine's cheerful tone turned professional. "But, seriously, Wes, I've been thinking, we could totally-" and Wes let himself tune out. Blaine knew that, despite being a frequent soloist, he didn't exactly have a voice in the Warblers. That would be him, Thad, and David, thank you. Of course, it didn't stop him from pelting him with thoughts the second he got him alone.

Plus to rooming with Blaine Anderson: A Very Potter Musical was always a valid option for movie night.

Negative to rooming with Blaine Anderson: The second he felt comfortable and had nothing to prove, he never stopped talking.

Luckily, lights out was in ten minutes. It wasn't long before the emergency lights flickered on and off as someone- presumably their prefect ,Nathan- cut the power to warn them that they were at the five minute mark. Blaine practically leapt into the bathroom, slamming the door while saying, "But seriously! It should be considered a _crime_ that we haven't done the Plain White T's yet!"

Wes had already tucked himself into bed when Blaine came out of the bathroom. "We haven't done the Plain White T's cause they're too iconic," he answered, and before Blaine could respond, the room went dark. Outside their room, there was still yelling and laughing, but Wes was a stickler for rules. No talking after lights out. Ever. Blaine nodded feebly at him before crawling under his covers slowly.

He seemed to change attitudes with the lights out. Wes could see his silhouette by a lamp post shining through the window behind him. He was sitting up stiff and straight in bed, and he could barely make out his shoulders shaking. "Are you okay?" Wes whispered, rules be damned. Blaine immediately stilled.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, sounding half chipper, half… Half not like Blaine at all. "Why do you ask?" Wes scratched his head, not sure what to tell him. 'Cause you're boyfriend cheated on you, and you seem so tired, and sad, and skinny, and you're mood has been bouncing all over the place since you got there,' would have been ideal but instead he went with-

"No reason," he responded, guilt immediately gnawing at his stomach. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He had immediately engulfed Blaine in his usual Warbler status, having him sing a very, very irritating song as a solo the second he walked in (he, of course, knew all the words and didn't even touch the sheet music he had printed him. What was with him and Top 40?), but… what else? He had seemed pretty sufficiently distracted for most of the afternoon, but the second he stopped talking…

He turned into a zombie.

A really depressing zombie.

Blaine was a really strong person. Students attended Dalton for three reasons. First, they were filthy, freaking rich. Second, they had their eyes set on some amazing college of some sort. Third, they dealt with some pretty crappy stuff at their old school. Blaine was mostly the latter. He had money, and he was all about a good education, but… Wes didn't know everything that happened at Blaine's old school. Frankly, he didn't want to. It hurt too much to watch his friend struggle to tell him, and every time he learned something new about him, this terrible weight settled in his stomach.

He did know that Blaine had spent more than one weekend locked in a closet, he knew that Kurt's being shoved into lockers was nothing compared to the abuse he got, he knew that he still had some really deeply hidden self-esteem issues that he couldn't seem to deal with, and Wes knew that because of all this, Blaine was really, really strong.

But he didn't think he could take this.

This wasn't fair.

Wes was really starting to hate Kurt. He didn't seem to understand the effect yet of what he had done. If he received one more text asking how Blaine was, he would throw a chair. Kurt should be there on one knee and begging for forgiveness. He should feel crippling guilt. Blaine hadn't been right for a long time, Wes had noticed. He had noticed how desperate he seemed whenever Klaine rolled into a Warbler party. He noticed how hard it was for the younger boy to keep Kurt's attention. He noticed how Blaine was trying so, _so_ hard to make things work.

And he hated Kurt for not noticing. He hated Kurt for allowing Blaine to waste away without comment. He hated him for breaking Blaine because Blaine was most definitely broken. A person could only go through so much, and Kurt should have _known_ that.

He should have known how quickly Blaine invested himself in things. It stressed Wes constantly, and made him incredibly hard to protect. He fell in love in minutes, and he was constantly paying for his instant loyalty. But Kurt was supposed to be different. He was supposed to be the one to love Blaine back and treat him right.

Why couldn't Blaine have just been enough? How had he not been _enough_? _Why was he never enough?_

A disgusting nauseating feeling wormed it's way through Wes. If he was asking these questions then Blaine… _Oh, Blaine._ Wes couldn't even imagine… Admittedly, _he_ was heartbroken. _He_ had a million questions. Blaine was probably so scared and confused, and as far Wes knew, they hadn't actually broken up. He doubted the two had even talked since Blaine had walked in on him and Sam…

Wes sighed. This was a mess. And if the way Blaine still was sitting up straight in bed and the way his entire bed was creaking with his shaking was anything to go by, he was a mess too.

No. This wasn't good.

Now, for a while, Wes had prided himself in not being an extremely touchy person. Well, not in the way that Nick and Jeff were with each other. Not even with David. So not even he could explain what could possibly make him crawl into Blaine Anderson's bed his first night back at Dalton. However, the quaking of Blaine's body as he made him lie back told him that it wouldn't be the last.

"Shh. It'll be okay."

**Okay, so that was satisfying. I feel like I could write this forever. **


	3. In The Closet

**Guys, can I just like… snuggle all of you? I'm seriously overwhelmed by all your positivity! I think my heart just may be exploding, I feel so loved! Thank you so much, I could cry! **

**I'm gonna do my best to be all up in this story and update like a mad person. However, my school is project based, and I have, like, three this week, so… yeah. I have to do some mad work. We'll see how things go. I'll try to purposefully keep my schedule clear for you and I'll even eat alone like a loser to work on it! (Although, I go to a IB STEM school, so it's not an uncommon sight for more than one reason…)**

Kurt Hummel wasn't exactly sure how to feel about himself. On one hand, it's never a good thing to cheat on someone, so he felt a bit guilty. On the other hand, Sam Evans was practically tearing his ear off in the middle of glee club, and there was something to be said about that. He, Kurt Hummel, had one of the hottest guys in school gay for him and unable to hide it.

The fact brought as a small smile to his lips as he tried to push the other boy off him for the sake of Mr. Schue's lesson. He could sing, things were going so well for him, but he was also a little bit worried for Blaine. Rumor has it, the other boy had switched schools, and it didn't exactly sit well with him. He remembered Blaine had already been run out of one public school, and it was probably extremely painful for him to be chased out of another. However, his absence the past couple days had left a _lot_ of opportunity for Sam's and his relationship to grow, so he wasn't planning on looking that gift horse in the mouth.

The word of the week was "Intervention", and Mr. Schuester was prattling on about songs that told someone what they needed to hear. Whatever, he wasn't listening. How was he supposed to when Sam was touching his waist like _that_? A familiar tune graced his ears when Rory decided to jump on that week's assignment by singing "Obvious" by Westlife. Seriously? How stereotypical could a person get?

Okay, don't answer that question.

But that was one of the last things on Kurt's mind as Sam's fingers were curled around his leg and he had that hungry look in his eyes that Kurt so frequently saw. It was what attracted him to the blonde in the first place. Blaine was an admittedly amazing boyfriend, but he didn't look at him like Sam was right now. He seemed satisfied with a peck on the cheek; meanwhile, Sam was practically pulling him into his lap the second they were alone.

Kurt liked that. It made him feel wanted, and Kurt really liked feeling wanted. For so long, it felt like there wasn't anyone out there who really cared about him. His dad did, but he knew his life would have been easier if he was straight. Carole did, but he couldn't help but question if she had those same homophobic thoughts buried in her that Finn did. Mercedes was religious… But Sam just seemed to crave him with every nerve in his body, and –yes- Kurt enjoyed that thoroughly. Also, it may have made him feel just the slightest bit sexy, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't soak it up.

The song Rory was singing flew by, as Sam didn't tone down the PDA in the slightest, not caring who had a problem with what. Sure, there were the occasional spitballs that landed in his hair coming from Puck's direction, but there were always going to be those. His entire face felt damp from Sam's mouth constantly being on it, and Kurt suddenly realized everyone in the room was staring at him and his boyfriend. "Honey, get off," Kurt whispered, "Everyone's watching." Sam backed away, taking in everybody's faces. Kurt couldn't help but notice himself that Rory looked a little bit hurt. Sam blushed.

"This is awkward…" Sam mumbled under his breath so only Kurt could hear. He just cleared his throat.

"Sorry, guys. I'll pay attention next time," he promised, flashing them all an apologetic smile. Santana arched an eyebrow, her ponytail bobbing with the curious tilt of her head.

"Hmm, because we all know how good you are at doing that," she said sassily, and Kurt wasn't exactly sure what she meant. She was constantly filing her nails during his performances, and it's not like she was doing anything aside from texting Brittany all throughout class, anyways. Santana was a lot of things, but she wasn't a hypocrite. Plus, Kurt was generally pretty good at focusing on the lessons, especially in Glee. Well, that was mostly because he liked having a say just about as much as Rachel did, but that was beside the point.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, and Kurt could have sworn he saw something pass between the eyes of literally every other glee club member but Sam. What did they know that he didn't? Santana stood up and practically circled him- like a lioness it's prey- and Kurt couldn't suppress the fear bubbling up in his heart. The girl was intimidating.

"Look, David Bowie," she started, gesturing to his tight, admittedly sparkly, one-sleeved sweater, "normally, I don't care about the outcome of other people's relationships, especially because I'm usually the one wrecking them, but I like Blaine, and even _I_ think you were acting like a straight up bitch. Me. And you still are," she said, arms crossed over her WMHS logo. Kurt didn't like the way the other members of New Directions were shifting awkwardly in their seats.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, craving Sam's support and crawling into his lap. There was a pause as Santana looked at everyone else expectantly, obviously not wanting to be bothered to be the one to talk anymore. Finn cleared his throat.

"You were kind of killing him, dude," his stepbrother said. Kurt still didn't have any idea what the other Glee kids were trying to say, so he used his go-to move to get Finn to elaborate by giving him the most withering look he could muster. The boy floundered a bit before continuing. "I mean, like, he… I don't know, he just looked all sad and stuff all the time, and he was all tired, and he was skinny, and you were kind of being a jerk to him," Finn said slowly, and Kurt's cheeks heated up.

"It wasn't that bad," he told him, knowing he was blushing furiously. "I mean, he probably had a bit of a clue, but he's pretty oblivious. I bet he's shocked and crap _now_, but it wasn't worse than any of _you guys _cheating," Kurt said pointedly, earning a couple lowered eyes and sheepish looks. Mercedes spoke up, giving him an exceptionally disappointed look.

"No, Kurt. He did know. You were pulling away from him," she said gently, and Kurt rolled his eyes, fitting his head under Sam's chin and threading his fingers through his hair. That was something he could get used too. Blaine's hair was always plastered down, and he liked being able to play with something when he kissed Sam. It was refreshing.

"Yeah, whatever. Apparently, this is 'intervention' week or whatever, but I don't need one, and if it's not in song form, I don't want to hear it," he snapped, and crooked his head back to look at Sam for support. The blonde nodded a bit hesitantly, much to Kurt's dismay, but the feel of his lips on his forehead and the scent of his skin had Kurt immediately forgetting. Yes. Sam. Sam was a good choice. A really, really good choice. The other boy's fingers tickled around his waist on one side and up his leg on the other.

Make that a really, really, _really_ good choice.

* * *

><p>Nick really liked kids. He felt like a day that ended covered in spit and sore knees from crawling on the floor was a good one. He liked trying to decipher what they said, he liked waiting for them to finish their food or slowly read a sentence, he liked waiting up in their rooms until their parents got home… he liked everything, and he was great with them. Whenever a crying toddler found it's way into Dalton, Nick was always called to 'fix it'.<p>

And when Blaine Anderson was upset? Well, that was no exception.

Nick was already out of his seat before the very distraught looking David in his doorway could say anything. "Lead the way," he instructed, the taller boy nodding and headed down the hall as Nick snagged his blazer from the chair and followed. Jeff, naturally, came in toe, practically breathing down Nick's neck. The kid got clingy when nervous, and he also really hated being away from his best friend, so Nick wasn't surprised.

He _was_ surprised, however, when David led them to Wes and Blaine's shared room, with only the former inside. "Where did he go?" Nick asked, and Wes just pointed wordlessly at the closet door. What the heck? Dalton closets were freaking puny… Nick shooed Wes, David, and Jeff out of the room and pulled at both of the accordion doors, only to find them stuck closed. He yanked again.

"Please, just go away," came a very quiet, desperate voice from the other side. Nick sighed; he was pretty sure they all had been expecting this. He had seen Blaine when he first came in the school, and the sight hadn't been pretty. It was obvious the old Blaine they had seen during Warbler practice wasn't the real Blaine anymore. A breakdown was inevitable.

"I can't go away, Blaine," he said gently, finding a place in his voice somewhere between talking-to-a-five-year-old and consoling-a-newly-widowed-elderly-lady. "You're sad. Let me in," he said, but more in the way of asking permission than the words read off as. There was the sound of shifting behind the doors, but they remained tightly closed. "It's okay, Blaine, I'll just wait. I'll be right here when you want to open up."

And wait he did. For a long, long time. Forty minutes of Blaine presumably standing in the closet crying found Nick sitting on the floor, facing the door, and looking into a pair of very, very red eyes. There was a minute of them just staring at each other, and Nick figured it was he who was supposed to talk first. "Do you want them to come back in or stay away?" he asked, referencing the surely very worried Warblers who were waiting right outside the room. Blaine cleared his throat.

"You can let them in," he said forlornly, and Nick's heart broke. He was sure of it. He went to the door and let the other guys in, all three of them sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall in the hallway. Jeff was practically on top of the door, and Nick couldn't blame him. They weren't accustomed to being separated. In fact, he was more than a little relieved to see him right outside. Nick quickly moved back to Blaine before they could enter and sat him on the bed, taking a spot next to him. He tried not to laugh as the trio practically huddled at their feet. Aww. They cared.

"What's going on, Blaine-a-bee? What has you so upset? Where's your mind at?" he asked, and Blaine gave him a particularly hopeless look that sent Nick's hands off on his shoulders and his arms around them instead.

"What did I do _wrong_?" he asked after a moment of sniffling. "Why am I so _wrong_?" Blaine's entire body was wracking, and Nick could feel it all up and down his side. He wanted to scream, _You're not Blaine! You're perfect and wonderful, and sometimes the world does crappy stuff to the best of people! You're amazing! You'll see! _A quick look to Jeff, Wes, and David proved they were all thinking the same thing, but they knew the situation required a bit more elegance than that. Nick cleared his throat. He wasn't as great with words as the other, more dapper and "behaved" students at Dalton were, but he was probably the best comforter out there.

"Nothing, Blaine," he said, pulling away a bit to look the curly-haired boy in the eyes and dry his tears with his thumbs. "You did nothing wrong, and there's nothing wrong _with_ you. You've just had to deal with a bunch of people who _have_ and who _do," _Nick explained, hoping he was doing an okay job of getting his point across. He wasn't one of those guys who could just magically have a perfect speech tumble out of this mouth, "Don't let the wrong people trick someone as right as you into thinking bad things about yourself." Blaine shuddered against him, and the sound of the accompanying sob ripped right through Nick like a chainsaw.

"No one wants me," he said brokenly, and Nick just held him tight. Kurt Hummel was going to pay.

**I was babysitting, and I now have enough money to buy my skin care stuff again. I was stupid and went shopping last week and used up quite a bit of my funds. This wouldn't be a big deal, had I not been dangerously low on cleanser and moisturizer. **

**See… okay. I have what you would call "dry" skin. Like, it's not the ashy kind of dry, it's the not-oily kind of dry. So I don't REALLY get zits. However, that doesn't stop me from needing 68 dollars to spend on skincare products. I've got expensive tastes. So I just earned the final 23 dollars I needed to pay it off cause my mom buy's half and I buy the other. SO YAY! **


	4. Thoughts of Touching

**This chapter is… this chapter is awful because I don't… I can't figure out how I want certain things to fall, so it's kind of weird. But I decided to just go for it and hope for the best.**

Blaine was on the verge of some kind of meltdown; he could taste it. It felt like the other Warblers were practically molesting him, what with the way their arms were constantly around his shoulders and their hands were always resting on his knee. He didn't know how to tell them to stop. It's not that he didn't appreciate it or needed it, but… it scared him.

It scared him because he couldn't figure out _why_. He didn't get why anyone wanted to touch him, not anymore. Not even Kurt wanted to, so why would they? Kurt was supposed to always be the one to comfort him when he was sad, and now that he was the one causing his pain, Blaine wasn't sure what to do with himself. It felt like his insides were being torn apart in all different directions, and he didn't know which way to lean into to make it hurt less. Who was there to help him when Kurt couldn't? When Kurt wouldn't?

And, crap, why wouldn't he?

Blaine couldn't pinpoint where or why it all went downhill. He had been trying so hard to be everything Kurt needed, so worried the older boy would leave. Even before he started _cheating_, Blaine had been working to his best extent to keep them together. He had gone to prom with him. _Prom_. As in a _dance_. With a _boy_. At a _public school. _After last time, he wasn't exactly sure he had managed to make it into the building. He did know he loved Kurt though. He loved Kurt so very much…

Also, he had switched schools for him, leaving his friends and the safety of Dalton behind. Blaine remembered sitting in his car for twenty minutes before finally braving the McKinley halls. But that's what good boyfriends did, right? They followed their partners? Blaine wasn't sure what he was missing. He thought he had been romantic enough; he remembered showering Kurt in compliments and not pushing the other boy into a fast relationship.

But for some reason things with Kurt started to become less fun, despite all his trying. He had been able to make it through a study date without even opening his books, and after a couple months of being in New Directions, it seemed like all he was doing was flipping his way through his notes. Kurt had been pulling away from him.

Instead of going places together, Blaine started just tagging along. He knew he must have looked like an idiot, a lame junior like him trailing after a senior like a lost puppy, but he needed him. Blaine needed his Kurt. And when Kurt stopped being his, he contented himself with his being Kurt's. Anything was better than being alone.

Alone.

It was such a scary word. Blaine knew what it was like to be alone. He knew what it was like to stand in the hallway of a school filled with dorks, and geeks, and nerds, and fanboys and to not have _any of them_ talk to you because that's how low on the food chain you were. He knew what it was like to go for weeks, only to have people talk to you directly for the sole purpose of throwing insults. He heard that some religions use shunning as punishment, and Blaine could see why. It had beat all kinds of habits out of him. It made him strive to be perfected and forced him into being 'dapper' as people so liked to call him… Isolation was so, so _scary._

And when Kurt started pulling away? Blaine started freaking out. He immediately felt the pull to better himself again, anything to not be alone because this time he really would be. This was a new school with no new friends that weren't Kurt's, and there wouldn't _be _any if Kurt broke up with him for Sam Evans… So Blaine did what he did best. He started "fixing" himself.

They were only small things in the beginning, like just waking up earlier in order to set his hair just right and spend more time on his clothes. He plucked his eyebrows, started boxing a bit more than usual, and cut himself off from all simple carbs and anything with any kind of sugar in it. No big deal, just regular self-betterment. Or, at least that's what he told himself.

But Kurt didn't even _notice. _Not at _all. _ It was like everything Blaine did just made Kurt want him _less_. He couldn't figure out what he _wanted_. Actually, that's a lie. He wanted Sam. Sam with his perfect body, and his perfect hair, and his perfect face… Well, two could play at that game.

And soon, he was going to the gym directly after Kurt left him and coming home at 10 PM when it closed. He was going on runs in the morning at 4 AM so he could come back, shower, and still make himself look what he qualified as presentable, thought he could never seem to get himself _just_ right. And when that wasn't good enough, Blaine threw in the towel, and food became something he only got when he truly became too dizzy to focus, but that didn't make him feel any less guilty when he did... One fleeting comment from Kurt had started that little problem: "Don't you think you've eaten enough today?"

It had felt like the air was sucked right out of his lungs.

But it still seemed like Kurt hadn't looked at him in days. In fact, Blaine still wasn't entirely convinced that he had. He felt like Kurt had been gazing through him, not at him. His entire body had ached with longing for some kind of eye contact. It still did. Oh gosh, it still did. He just needed him. He needed to be loved by somebody, by _him_, just so, so bad, but he felt just so _alone_. Why did he have to be so _alone?_

"Blaine," Wes called, interrupting his thoughts. Blaine blinked up at him, not sure what they were talking about. "Do you have any thoughts?" the older boy questioned, sighing as if it pained him to ask. He smirked.

"Plain White T's," he argued again, and Wes facepalmed, gavel still inhand.

"Too iconic," he growled through gritted teeth. "It would be like trying to do Coldplay." Blaine was practically blinded by the spark in his own eye.

"That's a _great_ idea!"

* * *

><p>Kurt loved this. He was sprawled out on his couch, pretty sure he had never felt more comfortable on it before. Of course, that had mostly to do with the fact that he wasn't so much as lying on the couch, but lying on <em>Sam<em> on the couch. Yes. Kurt _loved_ this. He loved feeling the other boy from the very spot their lips connected to his every toe. It felt amazing to be _on_ someone like this, to _fit_ like this, and that was one of the many reasons Kurt was a bit overly satisfied with Sam.

Of course, the list went on and on. He loved the way they fit. Sam was wider and taller, so he could lie on him perfectly like this. Blaine was shorter and built a bit stockier, so they normally ended up on their sides. This was so much better. Kurt also loved the way Sam felt. Why was it that tan skin just seemed to feel warmer than pale? Kurt knew Sam probably just had more of an olive tone to him, but it still baffled him how he could seem so suntanned in January.

He also loved –no shock here- Sam's body. Gah, the thing had ridges and muscles that no one but him seemed to have but everyone definitely should. Yes. Kurt couldn't help but move his hands under Sam's shirt, tracing his abs with his fingers. Blaine was muscular, but... the blonde was incomparable. Oh, and that was another thing he loved. His hair. He may have said it before, but it was _so_ refreshing to play with hair that wasn't is. Blaine's was always so perfectly fixed down; Sam let him run his hands through it with it and get it messy. It was amazing.

Of course, there were also a couple problems with Sam.

For example, the way he _never stopped kissing him_. Sure, Kurt did love it. It made him feel all tingly from his toes to his brain; he couldn't deny that. Plus, it had been perfect for their little romantic tryst. Going on dates wouldn't work with Blaine in the picture. Not when he had a family that would probably want to take him out to dinner and have them run smack dab into each other. No. Stealing away to Sam's bedroom was their best bet, and he wouldn't lie, there was quite a fantastic guilty pleasure that came with macking down on McKinley's Mr. Popular while the boy-next-door was waiting up for his text.

But now they could go out on dates. They could hold hands and, call it overly domestic, share their days with each other. They had time; they could talk like a couple, but they still continued to steal away to their respective rooms and clamp down on each other's faces. And that was just it, they "clamped down". Everything was rough and hungry. Gone were Blaine's slow, sweet kisses, and Kurt found himself missing them just the slightest bit.

But Kurt was relatively content. Of course, he was a tad sick of his dad's disappointing glances and Finn's identical ones, but Sam was good. Sam was a good choice. At least, that's what he kept telling himself…

Because as many times as he tried to deny it, Blaine Anderson was back at Dalton, and it was his fault. And, crap, he was back at _Dalton_. His safe spot. And that made Kurt one of those terrible people he swore never to be, the kind that could make a person run. He had made Blaine run. And he knew better than anyone how terrible Blaine felt for running last time. Crap, he knew… he knew… And maybe… maybe if Sam wasn't just so irresistible…. Maybe coffee could have turned back into a daily thing, and maybe they could have stayed together through college, and they would move in and argue over what movie they should watch each Sunday night for as long as they both shall live…

No. No. No good could come from that kind of thinking, and Kurt refused to. He was with Sam. _Sam_. Sexy Sam with the trouty mouth that wrapped around his so completely and perfectly. Yes. He was a good choice… But Blaine had been a good choice, too. He had always been stellar with dates, and he was admittedly completely adorable… But Sam with his forbidden kisses and his beautiful face was too good to pass up, and he couldn't help it.

He had made a good choice.

But for some reason, Sam just wasn't the same when he was allowed to have him…

**I'm the king of the world, and you're the queen of the brainless... You can find another me, but I can find a million yous.**


	5. He Knew and He Knows

**This one is awkward to write! I can't decide whether I want to start with Kurt or Burt's 3pov… hm… See, Kurt I've done so many times, but works better with this, so… I'll re-read last chapter and see… Eh. I'll do Kurt. But this shall be VERY Burt-y, so let's get it on.**

**Also, I'm writing the ENTIRE THING to "Party Like Your Single" by Stephen Jerzak who… yeah. My obsession is a problem… but whatever. **

**Oh, no. I lied… I LOVE "Superman" by Joe Brooks. I'll do both…**

Burt Hummel stepped into the room, footfalls heavy on the wooden floor. It was taking near all of his will power to not stomp into his son's bedroom. At the sound of his entrance, the blonde kid's –Burt didn't know his name, and he didn't care- head whipped up from where it had previously been attached to his son's face. The boy's blue eyes were instantly filled with fear when he caught sight of him, and he moved away from Kurt with difficulty, their legs entangled together. Burt set his jaw.

"Son, I think it'd be best if you left," he said, watching as Kurt's apparent new boyfriend gulped, snatched up his jacket from where it had been discarded to the floor, and slipped past him. There. That was satisfying. A small smirk pulled on Burt's face, but it fell the second he looked back to Kurt, who was glaring at him from his spot on the bed. He sighed. "So is this how it is now?" he asked, and Kurt arched an eyebrow, the annoyance playing on his face.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, surprisingly keeping his tone under control. Kurt was currently a lot of things, but he would always respect his father and his limits. At least Burt had gotten something right…

"The whole 'you and this guy' thing. I haven't seen Blaine in awhile… so… is this how it is now?" Burt asked, trying to see through Kurt's skull and into his brain. He didn't like what he had been seeing in him lately. He just seemed so… lusty. And, okay, maybe Burt had grown a little too attached to Blaine when he and Kurt were together, but the mechanic was seriously worried about him. He hadn't looked good the last time he saw the kid… Kurt bit his lip.

"His name is Sam, and… I don't know. I guess…" he answered, and it was practically music to Burt's ears. He wouldn't lie; he didn't like his son's current boyfriend. Maybe it was just his not wanting to believe that Kurt would make such bad choices, but he blamed him –_Sam_, apparently- for the entirety of the past couple months. He was nice enough and rightfully afraid of him, which Burt found important, but he just… irked him. He didn't seem to treat Kurt right. Not like Blaine did, anyway… sure, the little hobbit had his mess-ups, and Burt wanted to shoot his head off a couple times before he and Kurt had got together, but other than that, he had been good. Sam didn't seem to know how to have any kind of date other than a hot night in. No. Not in the Hummel household.

So naturally, Burt was all over this "I guess…" of his son's.

He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning up against the wall while Kurt turned and sat cross-legged in the center. "Hmm… And what does that mean?" he questioned, trying to keep the hope out of his voice. Kurt frowned and pressed his lips together, scratching at the back of his ear as he thought. He flopped back on his comforter, letting out a groan of frustration.

"I don't know! It's just… I'm wondering if it was worth it," he said, and it took every bit of Burt's concentration to keep quiet as Kurt continued, wanting to tell him, 'No. No it wasn't,' a little bit more badly than he could put into words. "Sam's great, and he's an amazing kisser- okay, no. Never mind, I'm not going _there_ with you, but I do like being with him." Burt waited for the big 'but'.

"Yes?" he goaded, and Kurt leaned up on his forearms, meeting his eyes.

"It's just that I'm starting to think that Sam's only worth having as a Jack Twist. Blaine was better to have around in most ways. I know it sounds horrible, but I wish things could go back to the way they were a couple weeks ago when Blaine didn't know," he finished, and Burt suddenly wished Kurt was eight again and he could stick him in a time out. Because it didn't just "sound horrible". It was unacceptable. He gritted his teeth, trying to speak without snapping.

"Kurt, I think you'd have to go farther back than that," he told him, desperately wanting not only to tear the head off of his son but also his own. Gosh, he had _seen_ how Kurt was ruining his relationship and Blaine, but he hadn't said anything. If ever anything was to bite him in the butt… Kurt gave him a confused look that spoke volumes about how oblivious he had been to everyone but himself and Sam the past couple months.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Burt allotted himself a "disappointed parent" sigh, and tried to find words… how do you tell this to someone who should have known?

"Kurt, I'm pretty sure he knew a long time before he- what, was it? Did he walk in on you guys?" he asked, and Kurt nodded, looking a little alarmed. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure he noticed that you weren't giving him your full attention anymore," he explained, trying to put it in the gentlest way possible and figuring he had succeeded. Especially when "Duh, he obviously knew the entire time" was on the tip of his tongue. Kurt looked shocked, and it was another slap to the face for Burt, who hadn't realized just how out of it a person could be.

"What?" Kurt asked, voice higher than usual. Burt lifted his baseball cap and ran a hand over his head. He shifted the hat back on and looked at Kurt carefully, not sure what to tell him. Fortunately, the kid was filling in the blanks for himself. "That's not possible. He couldn't have known… I was careful. He never saw…" he trailed off, and Burt could practically _see_ the gears turning in his head. "Oh, gosh, he knew…"

"Yup," Mr. Hummel said, giving his son a pat on the shoulder and taking his leave.

* * *

><p>Looking at Blaine was starting to make Jeff feel itchy. Every time he looked at him, the blonde couldn't help but start squirming in his seat, despite the constant nudges to the side from Nick. It just made him all restless, and weird, and… Anxious! That was the word! Blaine made him feel anxious, and Jeff really didn't like it. He just wanted to be able to touch his forehead and make it magically better, but he couldn't. Blaine didn't seem to be fixable, and it was seriously messing with Jeff's head. He had to do something…<p>

He finally reached his limit after sharing a lab table with the shorter boy in Physics. The whole thing had been entirely too stressful for him, so –naturally- his eyes had been trained on the clock the whole class period. The second it ended, Jeff grabbed Nick by the arm and pulled him out into the hall. "Nick~y," he whined, shifting from foot to foot with books underarm, "You have to fix it!" Jeff noticed the heads turning to stare at him, but Nick hadn't even batted an eyelash.

"Fix what?" he asked, and Jeff let out the most obnoxious groan he could muster. How could Nick not know what he was talking about? Were they not sitting right next to each other at the same table with Blaine just two seconds ago? Did he not see that stupid look on Blaine's face? What the heck? People compared him to a puppy all the time, but Jeff hadn't gotten it until right that second. It looked like a wittle doggie that someone had just kicked with cleats.

"Fix Blaine!" he yelped, exasperated and unable to keep still. He couldn't take this anymore. Nick's face contorted into one of confusion, but before he could presumably ask him more questions, Jeff spotted Blaine walking out of the Physics room a little behind everyone else.

He left Nick in favor of snaking and arm around Blaine's shoulders and dragging him down the hall. "Hey, buddy! Do you wanna go to me and Nicky's dorm? SURE you do! Let's go," he said a little forcefully, grabbing Nick's wrist and pulling him along. He carted the two of them through the school, up the stairs, and to the dorms before pushing them both on his bed. "So?" he asked expectantly, waiting for them both to do their thing.

Nick shook his head a little bit, hair fluttering against his forehead. "What?" Jeff couldn't resist a facepalm. He crossed his arms and shot a pointed look at Blaine. What was his three not getting about this? Suddenly, thankfully, wonderfully, a look of comprehension washed over Nick's face. Jeff grinned, happy to have _someone_ finally understand the good deed he was trying to pull here, and plopped down with the two of them on the bed. Nick scratched the back of his head. "Um… It doesn't exactly work like that, Six…" he trailed of awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Blaine looked hopelessly lost. He threw his hands up in the air. "What is going on?" he questioned, flopping onto his back and threading his fingers through his unusually ungelled hair. Jeff could feel his heart lifting as Nick bit his lip; he watched the shorter boy's face intently, waiting. He was gonna fix it… he had to _fix. It. _

"Nothing," Nick said slowly, twisting to lean over Blaine and meet his eyes, thrilling Jeff. Blaine had lately been relatively hard to explain… He had his usual happy moments, and it wasn't like he was a walking state of complete depression, but at the same time, he _never_ had his usual happy moments, and he was a walking state of _complete depression_. Whatever. Jeff wasn't good with voicing his emotions past happy, sad, mad… But he had noticed that Blaine seemed to be acting okay without really being so. It was calculated.

For example, just now in Physics, they had been working, and Blaine had been laughing, but… Okay, not that Jeff was a creeper, but he had always somewhat noticed the way Blaine would practically snicker into a giggle. Today he had been laughing like Nick did, like he had forgotten how and was copying him… and it had been _weird_.

Also, he was kind of skimping out at Warbler's practice. He was all smiles between notes and lyrics, but the second he started singing, it was over. He stopped trying to look and act happy when his moving mouth could hide the lack of a smile. It was the same when he was talking, too…

And Jeff didn't like it.

At all.

He watched carefully as Nick hovered above Blaine's face, and he could practically see the conversation passing through their eyes. Eventually, some kind of realization flickered onto Nick's face, and his three pulled away, turning himself and leaning against the headboard as he moved to face Blaine on the bed. "Blaine… why is this break up- err," Nick paused, pondering something, "Sorry, this _potential_ break up so upsetting to you?" he asked, but Jeff could tell he already knew the answer. Blaine pulled his hair through loose fingers.

"Really? Right now? I'm supposed to be in Civics, and I've missed two weeks of prep for a closed paper cause of my transfer. I haven't even _begun reading_ theCongressional War Powers article, let alone synthesizing it…" he trailed off, and Jeff wanted to smack him a bit. Yes, now! If not now, then when? When Jeff honestly couldn't take looking at his mopey face anymore because it upset him so much? Oh wait, they were already there! Jeff bounced up and down impatiently, arms crossed over his blazer.

"Stop being evasive, and answer the question!" he snapped, and Blaine looked at him with wide eyes. Jeff watched as he threw Nick a helpless look, but he wasn't concerned. He knew his Nickpea would hold his ground, keeping his eye on him as he rested his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and breathed through his nose.

"Blaine, whatever's going on, it seems like you need to let it out a bit. Even I've noticed how you seem… off." Jeff felt his heart swell a little. Yes! This is what he had been hoping for! He tried to stifle a smile as he followed Nick's lead.

"Yeah, and you laugh funny!" he added, earning him a pair of strange looks. Whatever, they were getting places. Finally, they were going to _get_ places. Blaine had been so upset, and now they were going to fix him. Jeff knew he had relatively high expectations, but that didn't stop him from wanting to see his Blaine-a-bee happy again more badly than he could even describe. It was hurting him to see Blaine so hurt… And, yeah, he'd admit it. He just wanted to kiss Blaine's face all over until he felt better. He was touchy-feely like that…

Blaine sat up and looked down at the floor, hands clasped in his lap. "Well… I don't know…" he said awkwardly, a faint blush heating up his cheeks, and even _Jeff_ could see that he was embarrassed about whatever he was thinking. Nick put a hand on the youngest Warbler's knee, and Jeff grew somewhat alarmed when Blaine let out a shaky gasp, a shudder visibly running up his spine at the contact. Suddenly, his nose was growing pink and his eyes were all teary, and maybe it made him gay, but Jeff couldn't help but cry with him. "I don't _know_," Blaine said again, and Jeff joined Nick in enveloping him in the greatest hug of all time.

"Yes, you do," Nick said quietly in Blaine's, and consequently his own, ear. Jeff frowned as the initial excitement of having Blaine happy again dissolved in the situation. In fact, he was starting to feel a bit nauseous. Did he really want to know what twisted things were going down in Blaine's brain? It could be considered selfish, but Jeff realized he actually didn't…

However, there was Nick, arms squished between Blaine's back and his own chest and listening to the words falling out of Blaine's mouth that Jeff just couldn't quite understand. If he could do it, then so could he.

Nick fell away a bit, so Jeff back up too, keeping his eyes trained on the two boys before him. Blaine took a gulp of air with a good bit of difficulty, and struggled to speak. "I-I jus' don't under-erstand why he'd pick _h-him_and not- not- not-," he choked, unable to finish, and Nick just rubbed his arm.

"I know," he said quietly, but that only seemed to make Blaine cry _harder_. Jeff _hated_ that. Didn't Nick understand that the point of this was to make Blaine happy, not depress him further?

"Nickpea…" Jeff said quietly, Blaine's shaking shoulders making the entire bed quiver. Three gave him a sad look over their younger friend's head.

"It's okay, Jelffaba," Nick said, equally quietly, and Jeff was once again amazed by how comforting he could be. Jeff practically melted into his voice whenever he was upset. It was like a warm hug.

Positive to being best friends with Nick: He was great at making you feel better when you were down.

Negative to being best friends with Nick: He was a workaholic and went to bed early.

Blaine kept gagging on his words, and it terrified Jeff. He just kept patting the sobbing boy until he finally managed to work out a sentence. "An-nd I don' know wh-y everyone 's bein' s-so _nice_ whe-en even he doesn' care-care," he hiccupped, and suddenly, Blaine was honestly wracking with sobs. Jeff wasn't sure what to do with himself, but Nick seemed to know, so he just sat aside, watching as Blaine cried, and Nick struggled to make him stop and feel okay again, and he realized something.

He couldn't fix Blaine like this.

**Negative to having campaigners at your house: Chopsticks on the piano over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and OVER! **

**Other negative: They keep touching your tabs on your office computer! **

**Positive: Entertaining Monday nights… and pizza…**


	6. Holding Hands

**PO WS HZ**

**Guys, seriously? Do you know how to write a chapter? What even is this… I don't even know HOW! I can't figure out what to do with this big empty page…**

**Have any of you ever met someone who just like… I don't know. They're one of your closest friends, so there's that, but like… they just make you wanna laugh and cry at the same time whenever you think about them? But it would never work, and it **_**kills**_**. Do you know where I'm coming from? **

**But, in the words of some GENIUS Niff writer things are at "the usual undercurrent of teen angst", so yup.**

Okay, confession time: David knew more about people than he actually should.

It wasn't like he tried to get the latest scoop or was a terrible eavesdropper, but that because of it he was approachable. David was just one of those people who others were drawn to naturally, so he knew all kinds of secrets. He knew that Trent was terrified to graduate because he felt too dumb to get into college. He knew that Thad was desperate to please his overbearing parents. He knew that Wes didn't actually know what he was doing, that Jeff was sick of being compared to his older brother, and that Nick was painfully shy when not around Jeff.

And through knowing so much about people by their telling him, David started to know things about people just by observing them. For example, he knew that Trent was always "sick" on report card day because he didn't want to be asked what his grades were. He knew Thad was stressed because he put too much on his plate to please his mom and dad. He knew Wes didn't actually like being a leader, that Jeff sometimes acted out to get some attention (even if it ended with a "why can't you be more like…?"), and that Nick was scared to be so dependent on Jeff but more scared to be without him.

So naturally, David couldn't help but know quite a bit about Blaine.

It was obvious that Blaine was going through a rough time… Kurt had really done him in, but David could see more than the heartbreak that everyone else did. He could see that it was more than that. Because Kurt, Blaine's perfect Kurt, the one who was supposed to treat him right, had ignored him and basically told him through his actions that Blaine wasn't good enough.

It made David's head hurt just to think about it. Because, while Wes didn't know everything that happened at Blaine's old school, David did. And it was heartbreaking. Ohio was a crap state with crap people and the most ridiculous homophobes David hoped to exist (There couldn't be worse. There just couldn't…). What they did to Blaine –heck, _what they did to Kurt_- was terrible and wrong, and David would rather hope that neither –yes, neither- would have to go through any of the torment they already suffered through again.

So with the knowledge of Blaine's past, the way he looked when he came to Dalton that fateful first day, and the way he looked now all looped under his belt, David could come to a couple big conclusions.

Conclusion #1: Blaine felt worthless.

That may have been a blatant way to put it, even in his own brain, but David couldn't think of any other way to go about saying it. It was also impossibly easy to see if you could get break that initial sight of heartbrokenness that seemed to swallow the younger boy up. The way his shoulders kind of hunched in and how he took up less space in class were the clearest signs that David could think of, but there was more subtext than that. The look in his eyes… well, David could just tell. He also knew it had everything to do with Kurt, and everything to do with past demons, and nothing to do with Blaine's strength.

Conclusion #2: Blaine was scared.

David didn't even have to be good at reading other people to know this one. Blaine was just obviously twitchy and nervous looking, dodging comforting hands like they might break him. He was acting like his skin was made of paper and his bones were made of glass, and he had to be careful. Careful around everyone. And that saddened David a little bit. Dalton was safe; it had always been safe. Blaine just needed to realize that again. No one would hurt him here, not emotionally or physically. It was a haven, but Blaine seemed to have forgotten that.

Conclusion #3: Blaine was hopeless.

No. David didn't mean hopeless in a way that he thought the little guy could never get any better, but in a way where _Blaine_ thought he could never get any better. Not only did he seem to be slipping into the sadness enveloping him with a somewhat scary acceptance, but he seemed… Okay, David didn't want to be the one to admit it, but Blaine seemed like he didn't think anyone else would want him. He was treating Kurt like a one and only shot that he had blown.

David had noticed quite a bit to come to these conclusions, but now that he had them, he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. He wasn't good at initiating conversations in general, let alone such… uncomfortable ones. Wes was usually the one to start talking for them. They were always together, so that was never a big deal, but crap… Wes was sitting right next to them, but David couldn't just keep sitting there and waiting for him to speak up and tell Blaine to stop picking at his food and just _eat something_.

He shot an awkward look between the two boys flanking him. Wes had his jaw set in a straight line, and David knew how this was affecting him. He felt the exact same way. Not to be weird, but Blaine was their _baby_. When he first came to Dalton… it was instant. He was their wittle boy, and they were going to take care of him until they were lying in their graves. So David knew better than anyone how much Wes hated seeing Blaine this way.

He could see it by the protective flash in his eye and the 'bite me' stance he took in the hallway whenever they walked to class… It made David pity Kurt Hummel more than words could describe because Wes was ready to kill.

From the talks he and Wes had been having, David was aware of how hard it was for Blaine to get to sleep. They also showed how much it was stressing Wes. The older boy was about ready to tear his hair out, and David didn't know what to tell him. He was a listener. Always was, always will be. He didn't dole out advice, and he was honestly regretting it now.

David sighed, swirling around the remaining mush of his cereal and attempting to process all of this. What was he supposed to do? With a murmur of doubt, he grabbed a banana from the center of the table they were sitting at in their block and passed it to Blaine. "Here, bud. Finish that," he directed, the smallest bit of relief washing over him as Blaine peeled down the sides and took a bite.

* * *

><p>Kurt was honestly trying to pay attention to the movie that was playing before him, but it was rather difficult with Sam cuddling so close to him, arms possessively around his waist. He had finally been able to do something couple-y for once, and it felt… weird. Snuggling with Sam. They didn't fit right anymore… or maybe they never did. Kurt didn't know. He just wanted to watch <em>Mulan<em> like a normal person and not _think_ for a moment.

Kurt was completely sick of thinking. It felt like all he was capable of doing was replaying the past school year in his brain and trying to see what he let slip… what he let show. Where had he gone wrong? How did Blaine know? He wasn't sold at first when his Dad said he had, but now he was thinking, and… He had to have known. Crap. He thought he had been juggling two boyfriends perfectly, but apparently he wasn't as great as he thought.

At least Sam was being a good sport about singing along. He had most of the words down, anyways. Although, who wouldn't? No matter what your age or gender, you'd be a liar if you said you didn't know all the words to at least half of the songs. They were reaching "Girl Worth Fighting For", and Kurt couldn't help but smirk.

Blaine Quirk #43: While every person on the planet's favorite _Disney_ song, let alone _Mulan_, was "I'll Make A Man Out of You", his favorite had always been "Girl Worth Fighting For". No question.

Regardless, aside from Sam's body suddenly feeling a bit awkward pressed up against his, the night had been going pretty smoothly. Kurt loved the featheriness of Sam's hair against his cheek as he curled into him, and he liked the way Sam's arms were latched around him like, "Don't touch! He's mine!" It was great. It was fine… Or, it _was_ until Sam's fingers knitted through his own. Kurt loved holding hands, and Sam's were warm and soft in his own. Kurt attempted to memorize the feel of them.

And that's what made him break.

Because… crap. Crap. They were holding hands. They were holding hands for the first time. They had been together for months, and Kurt hadn't taken a single chance to do anything of the sort yet. Crap. Hands. Kurt loved hands. He loved brushes of fingertips and linking together as he walked down the hallway at school. Sam and Kurt hadn't held hands.

Kurt's breath caught in his throat.

He felt disgusting. Crap. He hadn't held hands! Why hadn't he held hands? That was the most important thing he could ever do with someone, hold their hand and find strength, but he hadn't done that with Sam. And suddenly, "Girl Worth Fighting For" was a bit too much to bear listening to, and he broke away from the blonde's hold on him.

"Kurt, wha-"

"Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Kurt apologized, tears springing to his eyes as he paced the length of the floor, not caring about getting in Sam's way of the screen. "I'm sorry, crap. We never held hands!" he babbled, talking more to himself than anyone else. He saw Sam arch an eyebrow out of the corner of his eye, but he was apparently content on letting him do his thing. "Crap, what are we doing?" he asked, looking to the other boy. Sam didn't answer, just continued to look at him like he was crazy, and Kurt wanted to cry.

"I don't know what you're-"

"No, you know what?" Kurt asked, cutting him off. "It's fine, I just…" he looked about the room helplessly for a minute before letting his shoulders sag for a minute and tearing his jacket off the back of the chair, digging his keys out from their bowl. "I have to go," he told him, walking out the front door and wincing as the cold, February air hit him in the face. Ugh. Winter!

"No, Kurt, wait! Where are you going?" Sam yelped behind him, and Kurt could hear him chasing after him as he half walked, half jogged to his car. He slammed the door as he got in. Turning the key in the ignition, regret hit him like a ton of bricks. What was he doing? Why would he… How…? His stomach felt like it was attempting to twist itself into a bow, and he wished it would stop because it felt like his organs were wringing themselves out, and the result was tears slipping down his face.

What was he doing?

Sam, meanwhile was tapping on his window. He could hear his muffled 'Are you okay's through the glass, and they were growing impossible to ignore. Oh gosh, Sam. Just go away. _Go away_. He didn't want Sam right now, he wanted… Blaine. Yes, he wanted Blaine, and all he had was a stupid, high school jock who didn't know how to be in a relationship right. Kurt peered over the backseat, checking to see that his battery-powered stereo was still in the back seat (cause he played old school). He practically relearned how to breathe the second he saw it still there, and immediately started flicking through his CD case. Hello, Dolly? Maybe? It would have to do…

Kurt backed out of the driveway, a long ride ahead of him.

**Hmm… I hope that left you on a curious note! YAY! GO TEAM! Now I'm tired and a bit grumps, as it is officially 15 minutes past midnight. AKA: it's not Darren's birthday anymore. Sigh…**


	7. Searching

**Okay, no talking. Let's just do this freaking thing…**

Kurt rolled into the Dalton parking lot, shoulders tense and pressed up against the steering wheel. To say his nerves were frayed would be and understatement. Crap, what was he doing? He was back at Dalton to what? Apologize with a _Hello, Dolly_ CD and a stereo that saw it's first use in the 1970's? This was ridiculous, this was ridiculous, this was ridiculous, and _crap_, why was he getting out of the car?

He wrapped his jacket tighter around himself and tucked his CD and it's player under one arm as he headed onto the grounds. In theory, this wasn't hard. All he had to do was find the Warbler's block- done- and then look for the second window on the top floor- easy- pop the CD into the stereo –check- put it on the write song –simple- open his mouth, and-

_Oof!_

Something- or rather, someone- threw themselves into Kurt's side, knocking him to the ground. He struggled to get away as someone else wrestled his stereo off. "For the love of- would you _get off of me?_" he yelled, the frozen grass crunching beneath him. A hand clamped over his mouth.

"Sssssh. Gosh, _quiet_! Do you want Blaine to hear you?" a voice responded, and it only took Kurt a second to recognize it as Trent's.

"Yes!" he answered, response muffled by the hand near silencing him. He glared up at the admittedly charming Warbler straddling him, a phone illuminating the darkness encasing them. He could now barely make out Trent's face and just catch Thad's as the other boy hit a number on his speed dial. Kurt could only guess who he was calling, but he knew it probably wouldn't come to any good.

"Wes? Yeah, it's Thad. Dude, grab David and Nick and Jeff and stuff… yeah. Kurt, so I don't know how you want to handle that… We're under you're dorm room. Look out, and I'll wave." Kurt followed the younger boy's gaze up to Wes and Blaine's window, seeing the former peek out from behind the curtain. Shoot. What even was this? He suddenly became very aware of Trent talking to him.

"Yo, if you promise not to run off or yell or anything, I'll get off of you," he offered, and Kurt just nodded behind the other boy's unfortunately sweaty hand, eventually getting to stand up and shake himself free of dirt. Trent watched him warily. Kurt was not happy about this. This was supposed to be a good thing he was doing here; the Warblers should be thrilled with what he was attempting! So why did it feel like he was a little kid about to get put in timeout? Thad eventually clicked off his phone, looking anxiously to the edge of the building for Wes's party of four to come around. Kurt crossed his arms angrily.

"What even is this? I've come to _apologize!_" he yelped, and Trent looked down to the ground a bit awkwardly while Thad just snorted. Well, that was insulting. "I'm sorry, Thad. Do you have a problem with that?" he questioned, knowing he was being somewhat bitchy and awful, but –hey- they had just tackled him to the ground! Thad glared at him.

"Yeah, because a boom box and an ancient musical'll be enough to clean up a mess this big," he said with a laugh, and Kurt felt his face heat up. He was embarrassed, and mad, and… ugh, where did these guys get off? What happened to once a Warbler, always a Warbler? They were old school: loyal. Why wasn't he included in that? One mistake, and really? That was it?

He opened his mouth to say something snappy back, but suddenly, a set of hands was dragging him away from the window and away from Blaine, and Kurt couldn't help but struggle against them. Eventually, they rounded the front of the school, and the people pulling him away seemed satisfied with the distance between him and the Warbler house. He spun around to meet eyes with a furious Wes.

"What are you doing?" he asked, glowering at him, and Kurt mirrored the look.

"I'm trying to apologize!" Kurt repeated, and once again, Trent's hand was smothering his face. He shook him off. "Oh, as if he would hear me from all the way over here!" he snapped and Trent backed off guiltily. Wes shook his head, clearly already exasperated.

The boy looked strangely emotional. His hair was stuck up a little more awkwardly than usual, like he had been running his hands through it. He seemed tense and oddly… protective. Kurt could see it in the way he was moving and the look in his eye, and it was unnerving. Why was he so worked up? Kurt knew, _he knew_, he had done wrong, so this couldn't be because of him… Then why did it feel like it was?

"Okay, you know what? No. Don't be mad at Trent; he's doing what he thinks is right," Wes told him, and Kurt was starting to think if Wes kept squinting his eyes at him like this, that they'd stick like that. "In fact, you don't get to be mad at all. _We_ get to be mad. _I_ get to be mad. You don't," he spat, and Kurt was livid. What the heck? He was trying to be good here and do something right.

Kurt _knew he had done wrong_, and he wasn't proud of it. All he _really_ wanted to do was erase cheating on Blaine and have him at his current disposal to press up against a wall and kiss till they were both breathless. He loved kissing Blaine… he missed kissing Blaine…

"Look, I don't get what you're problem is," he said, trying to calm himself a bit; Kurt knew better than anyone that yelling didn't solve anything. "I'm trying to fix things," he explained, earning him six, identical 'as if' eye rolls. Anger boiled his veins. Didn't they understand how guilty he felt? Why did they have to make things harder when he already felt so terrible? "What? What is it? What is so wrong with me trying to say sorry?" he begged, knowing he sounded desperate, but he was, and he was angry, and frustrated, and confused, and seriously? What was so wrong?

"Where's Sam?" Jeff asked, his voice sounding small in the tense situation, and Kurt's attention was drawn to the Warblers who _weren't _Wes. He'd forgotten they were there… and he wasn't liking what he saw. Nick and Jeff looked emotionally scarred, and David seemed straight up mad. Oh gosh… what was he missing? And crap… Sam. He shifted his wait from foot to foot, feeling beyond uncomfortable.

"Um… I don't-"

"Exactly," Wes cut him off, kind of spinning away from him for a moment, holding his head in his hands. "Gosh, see? Exactly! You're just… you're just saying words! You're saying words, and they don't mean anything!" he cried, turning back to face him with his arms up in the air. "You can't be sorry, Kurt! You can't be sorry because you don't know what you're sorry for. Stop. Just. Saying. Words!" Wes kicked the ground pointedly. Kurt was completely confused.

"No, I _know_ what I'm sorry for. Do you wanna hear me say it? Is that what this is?" Kurt asked, "Well fine! I'm sorry for cheating on Blaine. I'm sorry for making out with Sam behind his back. But you know what? I'm _sorry_. So let it go!"

And there was a pause.

A really long pause.

A really, really long pause.

Kurt waited awkwardly for someone to do something. He watched with some alarm as Wes and David shared a look and laughed a bit, the pair both taking a seat on the front steps of the school. No one was talking, and Kurt was inwardly panicking. What even was this? Eventually, to Kurt's relief, Nick pulled out his phone, and Kurt could tell he was searching through for something. Eventually, he passed it to him.

And there was a pause.

A really long pause.

A really, really long pause.

"Okay, I don't get it. Who is this?" Kurt asked, flashing the picture of the small boy on the screen back to Nick. David laughed again, running a hand over his head.

"Look again," he instructed, and Kurt did. Wait… Wait. No… When would this even have been taken? It didn't make any sense, it couldn't be… Crap. Crap, crap, crap, it was. Blaine? That was his Blaine? He looked freaking emaciated! What were these Warblers doing to him? It was like he hadn't slept or eaten in weeks, he was so… _small._ Blaine had always been short, but now he looked positively _tiny _with giant bags under his big, brown eyes.

"Oh my gosh, my baby… he looks like he needs to be hospitalized! Haven't you been feeding him?" And once again, his words were met with laughter. Kurt furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion. Why did it feel like he was missing out on some big inside joke? Suddenly, Wes was up and walking towards him.

"Ha, see, no. No. He's not 'your' baby. No, you don't get to call him 'yours' anymore because he's not _yours_, okay? N-no. No. Not when you don't understand that _you're_ the one that made this whole mess. You. Do you not see that little guy in the background?" Wes asked, pointing to a little blob behind Blaine in the picture. Kurt squinted to make it out. "Yeah, see, that's you. This was _your_ problem, m-kay? That _was_ your problem. Now it's _our_ problem. _We _are taking care of it."

"Taking care of what?" Kurt asked.

"Taking care of _Blaine!"_ Wes yelled, apparently not caring if the boy in question heard or not anymore. "Taking. Care. Of. Blaine. And why? Because of all reasons that you didn't see. You were _killing him_, Kurt. You were _killing him_. Why didn't you notice how much you were hurting him? He was falling apart!" Wes had a crazed look in his eye that Kurt didn't like, as if he had been too stressed for far too long. He and Blaine were close, that Kurt knew, but he seemed overly protective for a matter so simple, and what was he talking about? He ducked back when Nick's phone was shoved in his face again. "Look at him, Kurt! For the love of all that is good, just _look what you did to him!_"

But Kurt didn't want to look. He didn't understand. He just wanted Blaine, that wasn't Blaine! He backed away from Wes. "I'm going to find him."

* * *

><p>"Crap, Kurt, no. NO!" Wes yelled after him, reaching out to grab his arm, but Kurt was already too far-gone. Wes could literally feel his blood boiling as his hand shot into his pocket, fishing for his cell. He speed-dialed Blaine. "Pick up, pick up, pick up."<p>

Wes didn't need this. He was already tired and stressed enough from taking care of Blaine when Kurt wasn't thrown in the picture. The last thing he needed was for the psycho heartbreaker running around Dalton and ruining everything he had been working for. Because, honestly? Wes was working really hard for Blaine to be okay on his own, and he wasn't going to _feel_ on his own if Kurt was showing up and around all over the place.

"Hello?" the soloist answered, his voice sounding weak over the phone. What was this? How was it legal for a person to sound so sad and pitiful? How was it legal for a person this close to him to _be_ so sad and pitiful? Wes was pretty sure he was going to get gray hairs from all this...

"Blaine! Hey, awesome, can you do me a favor?" he asked, trying to not sound to horribly concerned. "Would you just take the back way out of the school and meet me at your car? Let's go get, like, ice cream or something…" he suggested. He heard Blaine's breath catch over the line.

"He's here?" Blaine asked, and Wes could have hit his head against the concrete enough to make it bleed, he was so frustrated. Curse Blaine's stupid, weirdo, psychic connection to Kurt! Why did everything have to be so difficult?

"Yeah, Blaine. And we thought it would be best if maybe you two didn't-" Wes was cut off by the clicking of a dropped call. Crap. This was not going well. He took a deep breath before turning to face his fellow Warblers. "Okay, guys, new plan. Find Blaine ASAP and kidnap him for all your worth. If Kurt apologizes then… then…"

"Blaine will crawl back to him," David finished for him, and Wes gulped, nodding.

"Yeah, he'll do that. So spread out."

**Having so much fun leaving you hanging! WOOT WOOT! Now excuse me, as I've very ill and on the urge of vomiting through my freaking eyeballs. I'll work on the next chapter straight away… and then I need to finish SWB, or I'll kill myself, I swear…**


	8. Getting Back

**Meh. MEH. Can I please die? I'm like… You know how we all imagine our FCMD boys to be 1) at first in denial about how sick they are, 2) Cavers when they're vomiting, 3) Clingy wittle boys to ridiculous extents, and 4) Slight complainers?**

**Yes. I'm all of the above. I'm such a stereotypical, sick gay boy. SO. STEREOTYPICAL! **

**Althought, to be clear, I'm a girl. **

**NOW LET'S WRITE! Cause this chapter should be rather… rather intense. BWAHAHA! Get ready for a Mercedes moment that would out-do the woman herself.**

"No, Wes, we're still looking." Nick listened as Jeff talked on his phone. They were searching the school for any sign of Kurt _or_ Blaine, but so far they had come up short. Nick wouldn't lie; he was kind of scared. He didn't want to see Blaine on his knees for Kurt anymore. It physically pained him to see him _this_ hurt, and Nick knew, he_ knew_, that it would only get worse if- "Wait, Nicky, is that…? Crap. Wes, Blaine-a-bee is in the parking lot. Bring your A-game."

"Oh…" Nick breathed, his eyes following Jeff's line of sight out the hallway window. There was Blaine all right: right next to Kurt's car. And was he…? Yes. He was hitting the freaking crap out of it with what looked like a crowbar. Nick could just make out tears on Blaine's face from where he stood, glinting under a streetlight.

He was suddenly aware of Jeff's hand latched onto his, and the blonde started dragging him down and out to the parking, where Blaine was, in fact, bashing in the side of the driver's door of Kurt's Navigator. Nick didn't know what to do, and he could see Jeff didn't either. Blaine had his teeth gritted together, and he was crying harder than Nick had yet to see him. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what to do, shoot, _why didn't he know what to do?_ Jeff nudged him in the side. "Say something, Nicky," he begged more than anything else, his face growing as wet with tear's as Blaine's. Nick gulped.

"Blaine… Blaine, you need to back away from the car, okay? I need you to back away from the car," he pleaded, sounding just as desperate as Jeff just did. He could feel himself starting to get upset, and he _hated_ this. "B-Blaine. You got'a stop, okay? Just stop."

But Blaine didn't stop. He just kept hitting, and hitting, and hitting: crowbar held tight in his hands. The paint on the now thoroughly dented car door was peeled off and scratched. Blaine delivered a particularly hard blow to the hood of the Navigator, forcing the top of the door down and in, cracking the window into a white, mesh spider web of sorts. Nick didn't know what to do… Gosh, he didn't know what to do, and now he was crying, and Jeff was crying, and, crap, _Blaine_ was crying, and _he didn't know what to do!_

Luckily, Wes apparently did because suddenly the older boy was forcing Blaine's arms behind his back and taking him to the ground. Wes looked somehow both terrified and determined, and Blaine was beneath him -sobbing even harder than before- as Wes wrestled the crowbar away from him. Oh gosh, Nick didn't know what to do, Nick didn't know what to do, and David was there, pulling Wes off of Blaine, and Blaine was standing up weeping with his head in his hands, and crap, Nick _didn't know what to do!_

"What are you thinking, Blaine?" Wes asked, his face red with… something, Nick wasn't sure what. "You can't just go beating the crap out of other people's cars like this!" Blaine looked at him in a way that broke Nick's heart; he looked so hopeless and hurt.

"I know, okay?" he responded, his face crumbling. "I know." Blaine was sniffling all over the place, rubbing his nose off on his sleeve and his tears off on the back of his hand. "I ca- I can't do this… I _know_ I can't do- I can't do this. I can't… Oh _crap_, I can't _do this_," Blaine said, his resolve breaking, and Nick got the feeling that they weren't just talking about a car anymore.

"Blaine-a-bee-" Nick tried to say, extending a hand to the other boy's shoulder, but he batted him away, effectively cutting him off.

"No, don't _touch_ me. Don't touch me; _no one should touch me_. I just… I jus' need t'hit… t'hurt… I don't…" Blaine struggled to manage to get the words out of his mouth, his entire body quaking before Nick's very eyes, and he just wanted to pull him into a hug and make everything better. Why did everything have to be so complicated? He just wanted to…

Nick gritted his teeth. He was gonna do this. Crap, why was he gonna do this?

He walked over to Kurt's car, throwing a look back to Jeff uncertainly. The blonde arched an eyebrow at him for a minute before understanding flooded his eyes. He nodded once, and that was all Nick needed before he was sending the toe of his very, _very_ expensive Italian dress shoes into the front left headlight of Kurt's Navigator.

_-Crunch!-_

Suddenly, the night was silent. Even Blaine's crying had subsided, and the little guy was looking at him like a dear in headlights. Nick could honestly throw up all over himself. "Well… like you didn't want to!" he retaliated to the other Warbler's weird looks, and he watched as their faces paled. Gah, he felt so nauseous right now! He really… he really _had_ wanted to. Kurt was just being so… frustrating. It was obvious he didn't care at all about Blaine, and that… that wasn't okay.

Nick wasn't good with the whole resentment thing. He was always that guy who saw a druggie and was like, 'oh, maybe he was just having a rough year' or saw a man on the news robbing an ATM and was like, 'you never know. His baby girl could need heart surgery or something…' But right now? Nick was somewhat sure that he _hated_ Kurt. Cause Blaine just looked so, _so_ sad, and if totaling a car was going to make him feel better? Well, then…

Nick sent his heel into Kurt's blinkers, and Plexiglas showered to the ground, the orange flecks shimmering around his feet. He looked down at them in a bit of a huff, when the sound of Jeff kicking at the car's bumper caught his attention. His six wasn't holding back as he brought his foot down over and over. He didn't even look up when David started copying him on the fender side. Nick smiled to himself a bit before busting out the other headlight on the car, watching out of the corner of his eye as Wes snatched up the crowbar and sent it through the windshield. Hmm. Funny how the alarm wasn't going off…

Nick could see Blaine in his peripheral, standing by as they demolished his not-quite-ex's car. Nick stopped what he was doing and looked about for a minute before he spotted a rather large and heavy tree branch on the ground. "Here," he said, putting it into the skinny boy's hands. "Beat the crap out of it," he offered, and Blaine looked at him, lost for a moment, before bringing the branch down on the driver's door to dent the thing even further.

A warm feeling filled Nick. Yes, he was slightly guilty about doing something this illegal and wrong, but at the same time… Nick knew Blaine needed this. He knew that the other boy had to at least on some level feel like things were slipping out of his control, and he would be lying if he said he didn't notice the way the tears were drying on Blaine's cheeks.

And frankly? The other Warblers needed this, too. They were _all_ strung out, and frustrated, and _mad_ that anyone would do this to their poor little Blaine, who they had known when he wasn't quite so courageous. Nick knew that it wasn't just him who saw that same, scared sophomore that he was before in him now.

So yes. Literally _nothing_ could make him feel happier than helping destroy the car of Kurt Hummel. Well… maybe none of this ever happening, but that wasn't an option. _Why couldn't it be an option?_ Nick kicked at Kurt's fender. _Why couldn't it be an option?_ He kicked harder. _Why couldn't it be an option!_ He kicked harder, and then Nick noticed Blaine had stopped hitting the car.

Nick turned to see what had made the junior stop and noticed a very familiar frame walking down the front steps of the school. "Crap!" he yelped, grabbing Blaine by the wrist and dragging him away. "Guys! Party's over!" he whispered as loud as he could, letting out a breath of relief when Jeff helped him with a scared stiff Blaine. They got out of there _fast_.

* * *

><p>Kurt had seen some guys, he had seen them run away, and he had seen his car… Now what? By the time he had reached his now completely ruined Navigator, whoever had busted it up were long gone. There was a short flashback to Mercedes throwing a rock through his windshield, but Kurt knew this was way worse. He was pretty sure if he even <em>touched<em> the door to get into his car, the entire thing would fall apart. It looked awful. All the lights were smashed in, his windshield and driver's window were cracked, and dents lined the base all the way around.

So now what?

It's not like Kurt could go back into Dalton; he clearly wasn't welcome there. On the other hand, it was _freezing_ out, and Kurt hadn't thought to bring anything heavier than a windbreaker for a jacket. What had he been thinking? Kurt surveyed the damage done to his car as he dug into his pocket for his cell phone. Oh gosh… _what_ had he been thinking?

The line rang for what felt like an eternity before someone finally picked up. "Kurt?" Burt sounded confused over the phone, and Kurt figured it probably had something to do with the way he had ran out earlier. He pressed his cell impossibly close to his ear.

"Dad?" he gagged, alarmed when he realized he was crying. Crap, how long had that been going on? Kurt let a couple tears roll out before continuing. "Dad, I… I need you t'pick me up," he struggled to speak through his sobs, and he could practically _feel_ his father's brain go into panic mode.

"What is it; have you been drinking?" Burt asked, coming off as very concerned and very… _parental_ with the words. Despite it being just the slightest bit annoying, Kurt wanted to melt into it a little bit.

"They didn't let me say sorry, Daddy," he cried out with one long, shaky breath, his voice higher than usual. He could hear the grabbing of keys and the slamming of doors, both house and car, as his dad presumably started making his way out to him. "They ruined my car!"

"Oh, Kurt…" Burt sighed, and Kurt just wanted a hug.

Cause… cause his car was ruined, and his relationships were ruined, and his _Blaine_ was ruined, and no one seemed to want to let him feel better. It was like there was no way for him to be forgiven for his mistakes, and maybe there wasn't. Because maybe things were worse than he thought…

"Don't worry, kiddo. I'm on my way…"

**You know what? Also, as I'm sick, I'm giving myself the opportunity to dress like a freaking hooker tomorrow. I feel like every girl needs that day occasionally where she makes all the guys who did her wrong regret their dumbness.**

SO I'MMA DO IT!

**Listening to "Bad" may have instilled this goal within me. Seriously, when they get low and retro, I get… lusty, for lack of a better word…**


	9. Things That Hurt To Hear

**YES! This story is all planned out… I had only had the last chapters planned, so like… yeah. There was this awkward moment where I was like "Hm… I have NO WAY to get to the end goal… not good…" but now I am set… and this thing is unfortunately going on awhile…**

**I say that as I worry that it's too long. Oh gosh, is it too long? **

**SO THIS IS IMPORTANT! Would you all HATE 31 chapters total of this? Because I don't want to drag you guys along forever on a story that isn't worth it… and I'm not asking if you think it's WORTH it so much, just as… I don't know. Is 31 chapters too many? Do you READ 31 chapter stories? I can take some out! But I planned for things to get rather… messy, so…**

Blaine was… he was. He was confused and uncertain, and… he just… he _was_. It felt like he wasn't actually in the moment, just… standing outside it. He could _feel _Nick and Jeff, and he _knew_ that they were taking him away, but it that didn't make it seem real. It wasn't _real_ that Kurt was there, it wasn't _real_ what he had done to his car, it wasn't _real_ that Kurt had cheated. Oh gosh… _why did he have to cheat?_

Blaine knew that he wasn't allowed to vandalize cars. Not really, anyway, even if the Warblers had let him do it. But… seriously? Seriously, Sam? Mr. Straight-Giant-Perfect-Gorgeous-Muscleman? Really? Blaine couldn't compete with that. Sam was flawless and he… he was just _Blaine_, and apparently that wasn't enough, and it wasn't worth anyone's time, and it wasn't _fair._

It wasn't fair.

He had tried so hard -he tries so hard, and Kurt didn't care. He just let him hurt, and hurt, and hurt, while he sucked the life out of him like a leech. It had been painful, but Kurt had been too busy playing tonsil hockey to notice, and, crap, it wasn't _fair_.

He didn't understand why he was allowed to be so cruel to him. Blaine didn't understand why Kurt could go ahead and wound him like that… He felt like he had been left to bleed out on the carpet, but there weren't any ambulances coming to help, and there certainly weren't any police officers trying to make things right. Why didn't Blaine get justice? It wasn't _fair!_

He wasn't mad, just confused, and hurt, and Kurt's car had been _right there_. Just so close, and Blaine was just so sad and frustrated… And suddenly he was hitting Kurt's car with a freaking crowbar- where had he even gotten that? It felt wrong when he was doing it… it felt wrong now, but he couldn't stop. When had he become so angry? When did he start feeling this… this lost?

Blaine realized he was crying. In fact, crap, he was blubbering like a freaking baby. Nick's hand was running up and down his back, and Blaine tried –he really tried- to find comfort in it, but his brain wouldn't stop. It wouldn't stop screaming, _screaming_, 'Why, Kurt, why?" in his head. Oh, gosh, it hurt… it hurt so bad. And it was loud. So, so _loud_… Blaine couldn't do this; he couldn't do this…

But he was going to. He was going to because he was sick of being sad. He had been such a mess inside and out lately, and he didn't want to show it anymore. He was going to be strong, at least for the moment. Especially because Wes looked pissed…

They had just made it back to the dorm, and Wes was pacing before him. He could see practically see the irritation buzzing off the other boy. Blaine felt kind of guilty about it, considering he was practically to blame… shoot. Why did he have to hit that car? Now Wes was all annoyed and angry. Blaine wasn't dumb; he could tell that Wes was stressed about everything…

"Frick…" Wes mumbled under his breath, and Blaine winced. Proper, gentleman Wes was pretty out of character… he must be really mad… "Okay, no… no. That wasn't us. In fact, there was nothing to not be us! We're fine. Things are fine; they're fine… it's fine. Right? Fine."

Wes was practically twitching in attempt to keep his anger under control, and Blaine was starting to feel more than uncomfortable by Wes's murmuring, and he could see the other Warblers felt the same… He didn't like it, and he was upset… but he was a leader -he always had been, so he put a hand out to Wes. "Yo, dude, it's gonna be fine…" he lied, rubbing some tears off on his sleeve and trying to stifle the tremor in his voice. Wes grabbed his wrist, something in his eyes snapping and hand tight around his arm.

"No, Blaine. No. It's _not_ going to be fine! Why… why did you have to be so _stupid_? It would have been better… it would have been better…" Wes was yelling at this point, face bright red and grip firm; however, he seemed to worked up to properly get his words out. Blaine wasn't too scared, despite how he had literally just felt himself pale… A small part of him wanted to be worked up over what Wes was saying, but he didn't care… it was true. He _was_ stupid. Stupid to let Kurt go, and stupid to get Kurt back…

"I don't-"

"No, of _course_ you don't!" Wes yelled, cutting him off and gaining steam. "You don't _anything_. You don't think before you act. _Ever_. You get emotional and _ruin_ things, Blaine. You ruin things for yourself. You fall in love too fast in the moment, and then you get dropped and end up so, so _sad_, and… Why don't you just protect yourself?" Wes's fingers were clamping around his wrist, and it _hurt_. Fire burned in his eyes, and Blaine's stomach twisted. He hated making people upset… "Just… come on, _think!"_

"Wes," David called, his tone sharp and cutting. "Calm down," he told him, and Blaine wouldn't lie. He was relatively thankful. Wes was so angry; he was becoming a bit scary.

"I-" Wes started, still sounding heated, but David cut him off.

"_Wes."_

Suddenly, Wes's grasp on Blaine's wrist loosened, and the other boy was wrapping him up in a hug. "You okay?" Blaine asked, hating how unsure his voice sounded… Why did he have to seem so… small. He had been feeling tiny lately… worthlessly and pathetically tiny…

"Yeah," Wes whispered, holding him tight. His whole mood had flipped. "I'm just… I'm just upset that you aren't," he answered, and Blaine didn't know how to respond. He wasn't fine… no. He wasn't fine, but… But what was he to say?

"Okay…?" he replied, and Wes just clutched onto him tighter.

"No. No, Blaine, don't say that… Well, not like that anyway. I hate seeing you upset; it's… _frustrating_. And I'm sorry for yelling and being an ass, it's not you I'm mad at, it's just- ugh…" Wes broke off into a groan, clearly fed up with being unable to voice or figure out his own emotions, and Blaine knew the feeling.

_Why, Kurt? Why?_

* * *

><p>When Burt found his son, he was standing in the center of the parking lot, sniffling. His arms were wrapped around himself tightly as he tried to fight off the bitter cold making his shoulders shake. Tears were falling down his sheets, and as his son stepped into the car, Burt could hear his shaky breaths. Hmmm… apparently he had quite an evening.<p>

Admittedly, Burt wasn't quite sure what to say. As he turned the car to head out of the parking lot, he saw Kurt's Navigator in one of the Dalton guest spots. Shoot. No wonder Kurt needed to be driven home, the windshield was shattered, and the driver's door seemed to be permanently stuck open. Burt did some numbers in the back of his brain and realized that repairing the thing would be pointless. Even if he did the work himself for free, the parts themselves would still be more expensive than a new car… And that's excluding the ruined hood, bumper, and fender.

Admittedly, Burt thought a lot of things about his son's mess up, but he never thought it would be expensive…

Kurt was crying quietly next to him, and as he drove, Burt put a hand on his son's knee. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, uncertain. He wasn't sure how he would respond to whatever Kurt had to say. He was pretty furious that someone would wreck a Hummel car like this, but at the same time… Burt could understand it. Sometimes decisions came with a price… and sometimes those prices were more literal than you'd hope they'd be.

Kurt shook his head, his face the picture of incomprehension. "I just don't understand, Dad… I know I cheated. I know it was wrong, but I didn't…" he paused, swallowing with difficulty. "They showed me pictures of Blaine when we were together, apparently… saying I didn't notice… I wasn't blind. I would have known…"

Burt drummed his fingers on the wheel, thinking hard about what to say next. "Kurt, what was in the pictures?" he asked, and Kurt let out a little laugh.

"Not Blaine…" he answered. "At least… not the Blaine I know…" Burt sat quietly, letting it sink in. He knew exactly what Kurt had seen. He just needed him to say it. "He looked so skinny. And he seemed so sad and tired, and he didn't look like… he didn't look like himself. They say I didn't notice it, but… I've never seen him like that, Dad. I know I haven't!" Burt bit his lip.

"I have…" he answered slowly, and he watched his son's face as carefully as he could without loosing sight of the road. Kurt seemed confused.

"What do you mean?" he gagged with a sniff, and Burt took a breath.

"I mean, from what you described, that was the only kid I was seeing in our house… He seemed strung out, Kurt. I think you were hurting him a little more than you realized," he answered, and Kurt scoffed. Scoffed. This disgusting sound in his throat… and Burt shuddered.

"Yeah, uh-huh. That's what everyone keeps saying…" he said, a sickeningly annoyed ring to his tone. He huffed, and Burt sighed… He knew he son could be a brat… and now was one of those moments. He loved the kid and every part of him, but sometimes he could be a bit much. Oh, his Kurt…

"Did you ever think that might be for a reason?" he asked, and he heard Kurt stiffen in the passenger seat. Ha, got him there… Score one for Burt! Sometimes raising Kurt was more of a battle of wills than anything else, and victories may make Burt a bit more ecstatic than he should…

"No, but-"

"Well, maybe you should," Burt cut him off, rubbing his chin. "Look, okay… Kurt. You're missing something really important…" When Kurt arched an eyebrow, Burt resisted a facepalm. "You keep ignoring Blaine." Kurt laughed.

"Um, I'm pretty sure Blaine's actually been the _only _thing on my mind lately," he said, chuckling a bit, tears still running down his face.

"No, you being happy with Blaine is what's been on your mind. Listen… you don't get what caring is. Not yet. I mean, you're in high school, so that's okay, but you're hurting someone, and that's not. You have to really look at Blaine, okay? Like, think back of him, and really? Are you sure you were seeing him? Or were you just seeing that kid you were cheating on because I'm pretty sure that it was the latter. In fact, I'm pretty sure _everyone_ is pretty sure it was the latter. You were ignoring him, Kurt, and you still are." Burt wanted to pat himself on the back a bit for that speech, but by the way Kurt was glaring at him, he figured it wouldn't be a good time.

"You're supposed to be comforting me. I'm heartbroken," he pouted, and now it was Burt's turn to laugh.

"Ha, son, you don't know the first thing about heartbrokenness. For the record, this isn't it. But I am here for you; you just needed to understa-"

"Yeah, I understand _fine_," Kurt snapped, eyes red and obviously upset as he crossed his arms and turned to the window. The ride home was silent…

**Ugh, short, short, short chapter… Please forgive me. Nothing really happened… but it was needed. Next chapter should be a bit better for all of you. I think you'll enjoy it… Chapter 10 will set some BIG stuff up, and then Chapter 11 I'm pretty sure won't disappoint. YAY! Go team.**

**Ugh. I hate my sister's friends… I also hate my sister. I don't think I can say that enough. She really annoys me. I mean… I don't want to be one of those stereotypical girls who doesn't like their sibling, but my little sister is actually a skank and a jerk. Like, and I mean she honestly dresses like a hooker and bullies people… What is she doing? Like, really? We both grew up in the same house, right? I don't even know…**

**Anyway, 31 chapters? Tell me please!**


	10. Worried Partners and Warblers

**Ugh, I keep forgetting to mention this:  
><strong>

**MCheekyBrunette -That's my twitter name, so let's ALL BE BEST FRIENDS! I'm sort of an addict, but I SWEAR I don't tweet a lot, just stalk Curt Mega and Riker Lynch and Dominic Barnes all freaking over the place… Anyway. PARTY!**

**This chapter… Grr. The first half is going to be torture to write/read cause the second half is so much more fun, but now typing that I realize it will deter you from reading this first part… For the record, it should have some oober cute Warbler stuff all over it, so… yes. Also, it'll clear up some emotional stuff before next chapter. SO I HOPE IT'S WORTH YOUR TIME!**

David was exhausted. He liked to consider himself Wes's right hand man, but that job was growing bigger and bigger as the days went on, and he was starting to not enjoy it anymore. Their little Blaine-a-bee was a mess, which stressed Wes out, which stressed _him_ out, and that in turn made literally every single other Warbler nothing but confused and worried. Unfortunately, Wes thought it was his duty to take care of all their glee-mates, which just made him more frazzled than before, creating a terrible vicious circle of sorts.

See, David didn't think it was his job to take care of all the other Warblers. He chose to believe that they could work things out on their own, despite Wes's mama bear status. However, David _knew_ that it was his job to take care of Wes, and that was getting to be more impossible as the council member grew more and more concerned.

So –yes- he was tired. And Wes was tired. And _Blaine_ was tired. Nick, Jeff, Thad, Trent: all tired. He could tell by the way their shoulders slumped a bit in the hallway, and David hated how easily destructed they were. Things had fallen apart so quickly… Well, maybe not so quickly. Blaine had been deteriorating for a while beforehand; David had seen. But Wes was fast to crumble, bringing the rest of the Warbler's with him- not that he was to blame. No, Kurt was to blame, and David hated him for it…

But as much as David despised the little _liar_ at the moment, he couldn't really show it. Wes was doing enough being angry for the both of them. Someone had to keep their cool, and while it was draining, David didn't mind it being him. He _knew_ it had to be him. He tended to be the only one the other council member would listen to whenever he got worked up, like he had at the beginning of the week…

David had _hated_ seeing Wes yell at Blaine. The only thing he could compare it to would be watching your wife yell at your son. Like, Wes was his best friend, while Blaine was his _baby_. When the short little guy first got to Dalton, he was so… lost. And with Wes being the protective mom he was, and him being an admittedly too sympathetic kind of guy, it was natural that they immediately took him under their wing. Seeing Wes get mad at Blaine… it had drawn out everything David remembered seeing in him those first couple weeks. Well, that combined with everything else that had been going down. Blaine was in a bad place, and Wes wasn't helping.

Well, now he was. David was catching him comforting Blaine all over the place.

For example, every morning when he went into their shared room –it had grown to be a habit after too many lost pieces of sheet music and last minute questions about upcoming classes- he caught Wes squeezed into Blaine's bed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Wes was helping him sleep at night; David _knew_ people. He understood.

David also saw him taking care of Blaine randomly all over the building. One time he found the two practically snuggling on a couch in the student commons; another time, he saw the two dart into a supply closet between classes… If David didn't know better, he'd say they were turning into a really lusty slash pairing, what with that combined with how much time they had been spending together in their dorm.

Plus, Wes was following Blaine around constantly. There wasn't a period where he didn't shoot out of class to meet their little guy outside the door of his own. Not to mention the way he was constantly finding his eyes during Warbler meetings and sitting next to him at lunch… honestly, it was getting to the point where the other guys naturally left two seats next to each other for them. Well, two sets of two seats. There was also no separating Nick and Jeff…

Speaking of Nick and Jeff, David was starting to rethink the possibility of there being a Niff in the near future. Everyone knew they were joined at the freaking hip, but no one knew their sexuality… Neither had really ever gotten with a Crawford girl at one of their infamous parties, but they weren't making out with other guys either. Not that it mattered or anything; it's just the whole situation seemed to be pushing them farther and farther into their own little world where they only needed each other to be comforted… David knew Nick needed Jeff; he just wondered how much and if Jeff needed him back…

And you know what? While he was on the subject of other Warblers: Trent. TRENT. The kid had always been kind of squeamish in that awkward yet somehow adorable way of his, despite his natural blatant-ness and diva status, but lately he just appeared to have no idea what he was doing. It was obvious he wanted to help, but didn't exactly know how… David vowed to let him know he was later… Trent had been awesome by tackling Kurt the other night. David could hug him for that.

Thad also seemed pretty confused. He was the only council member who didn't have a true inside scoop on the situation due to his big mouth and his not-so-close relationship with Blaine, and it was plain to see that he felt kind of put out, naturally. David also decided to give him some updates the second he got a chance…

He was basically thankful for all the Warblers at the moment, personal relationships aside. Things were rough, and David could see they cared by the way it was affecting them. Their worry made his heart swell a little bit because, hey, there _was_ goodness and love in the world.

Now, Blaine just had to see that…

* * *

><p>Sam wasn't exactly sure when he started pulling Kurt into supply closets to kiss him senseless; all he knew was that he really liked it. Admittedly, he had <em>no<em> problem being Kurt's thing on the side, especially since he _won_ in the end, but lately… Lately Sam was starting to feel a little bit awkward about the whole thing. Like…

Okay.

Sam may have been a little preoccupied staring at Kurt's addictive, gorgeous face to pay attention to literally anyone else when they were unofficially together, but Sam _did_ notice Blaine. He had been the competition; he had been someone to beat. Naturally, Sam had been keeping tabs on him. He had to make sure that he was always one step above the little hobbit, always worth having around. Admittedly, he was somewhat happy when he realized Blaine was a skinny little mess compared to him, but now Sam was guilty. So, so guilty…

They were lying on the couch in the Hummel's living room, kissing like usual, but Kurt's lips were still beneath his. Crap. Crap, crap, freaking crap. Why wasn't Kurt kissing back? Sam hadn't had a hot dog or missed a workout since they had started this whole thing. Why would he not kiss back? Wasn't he muscular enough? Wasn't he thin enough? Wasn't he handsome enough? Really Kurt? What the heck?

And that's why Sam felt guilty. The blond knew that Blaine had known about him and Kurt; he could tell by the sad yet angry way he looked at him. Everyone had. He also knew that Kurt was a very –shall we say- _charismatic_ individual and how easy it was to crave his approval. Right now, Kurt merely wasn't kissing him back, and he was freaking out: questioning himself. Sam didn't even want to _think_ about how he'd feel if Kurt ever cheated on _him_.

Crap, what if he was cheating on him? Sam's self-esteem was _already_ pretty much nonexistent; he didn't think he'd be able to handle it if Kurt would… would pick someone _else_. He was supposed to be the one he chose! Oh, gosh, he was probably screwing Dave Karofsky behind his back or something. _Crap_, that was totally it! How could he be in love with someone else? Was it all the making out? Sam knew he wanted them to do more couple-y things, but gosh… he couldn't _help_ but get his mack on when Kurt was near.

He was going to leave him –_shoot_- he was going to _leave_him, dang it. He was bored with him, and now he was probably stealing away with Dave under the bleachers, giggling about how he didn't know…

Sam pulled away from Kurt, rolling away and sitting on the floor, back against the couch, trying to will away the tears pooling in his eyes. "Kurt-Kurt… I'm sorry, I don't think I can… Kurt, I'm already messed up, I don't think I can handle if you- if you…" Kurt sat up on his elbows, hair ruffled from Sam's hands running through it and one brow quirked.

"If I what?" he asked, and Sam didn't exactly know how to answer… Well, he did; he just didn't want to voice it. Kurt… What if it was true? What if Kurt preferred someone else? Sam was pretty sure that it would feel better not knowing than being certain he was choosing someone else. He was supposed to be the hot one he chose. _Him_. Who could be more attractive?

"If- If you were- were _cheating_ on me," he gagged, pulling his knees close to his chest and feeling a bit more vulnerable than he would admit to. Kurt was kind of his first guy, and he was _really_ sick of being cheated on. He was so tired of being the one not wanted… He wanted to be the one people switched _to_ for a change. Kurt grabbed his hand.

"Do you really think that I would cheat on you?" Kurt asked, looking a little sheepish, and Sam let his gaze fall to his toes, nodding. Kurt's fingers tightened around his own. "Why would you think that?" he asked. Sam struggled not to throw up on the carpet.

"Well, you did it with Blaine… and you guys were _Klaine_ and everything, and he like… did all that stuff for you, and Finn keeps ragging on me because I don't do those special things Blaine did on dates and stuff, and you guys were supposed to be in _love_ or whatever, and we just kind of make out and crap, and I mean, that could get boring or whatever, especially when you might have found someone better looking or whatever," he rambled, unable to stop himself even for a breath; he was so nervous, "and Kurt, I don't think I could handle it if you did, cause I try so hard for you and everyone, and Blaine seemed more confident than me and everything, and he, like, practically had an eating disorder when he left, so I don't think I-"

"Okay, Sam, stop," Kurt cut him off, and Sam locked eyes with him, his stomach twisting in knots. "First, I'm not cheating on you. Despite my past actions, I'm really not that type of person. I liked you, but I wasn't ready to let Blaine go… But I picked you for a reason. Second, what are you even talking about?" he asked, and Sam couldn't help but squirm.

"I, like… I can't take any more self-loathing, Kurt," he explained. Sam hated this. Despite being ridiculously close to Kurt physically, they never actually talked. This felt weird and… scary. He didn't really like sharing himself with other people on this level. Every time he got close, people would leave… Admittedly, Sam wasn't too scared about Kurt leaving –he just didn't want him to cheat- but it still felt terrifying. "I don't think my brain could handle it if you were to pick someone else. Every time it happens, I feel worse about myself, and seeing the hell you put Blaine through… I can't handle that, Kurt. I just can't." Sam bit his bottom lip, taking in Kurt's fearful expression.

"What kind of hell are you talking about? I mean, I _just cheated_," he yelped, and Sam was confused at how exasperated he sounded.

"I mean, just what you would be putting me through, Kurt. Like… wait." Sam paused, tilting his head a bit as he took in the totally lost expression on Kurt's face. He didn't know. He honestly didn't know what he did to Blaine and what was potentially doing to him, and… Are you kidding? Really? Sam stood up, snatching his coat from the arm of the couch and shrugging it over his shoulders. "Kay, not to be girly or gay, but if you don't know, then never mind," he said, marching out the door and ignoring Kurt's protests echoing behind him.

Sam stomped through the snow covering the ground, more because of how angry he was versus how deep the snow was. Kurt didn't care. Kurt didn't care about him or his feelings; he didn't care about Blaine or _his_ feelings… Why did he start this? How could he be so dumb? He put someone else through the same thing he feared, and that wasn't okay…

And why did he get with Kurt in the first place? He wanted to be loved, not used, and right now he felt pretty used…

Why did things have to be so messed up?

**Yay! I have so much homework to do, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to put all of it off forever… I hate homework. I feel creative, and it won't allow that right now. Hmmm… I think I'll do civics and do my English outline tonight and write my paper and do my chem tomorrow. SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN! Hold me to that…**

**I'm rather excited about chapters to come…**

**Also, I apologize for any typos. I've been a lazy editor lately... I just don't caaaaaaareee...**


	11. Thinking Wrong

**Ever look outside at the world and have no desire to be part of it? Well, I have. THUS: WRITING WEEKEND! I'm really amped. I'm gonna get so much out of the WAY! YAY!**

Sebastian was used to having people scatter out of his way when he walked through the Dalton halls; he had a reputation like no other. However, it was never more apparent how afraid people were of him until now. Kids were practically diving to the floor as to not upset him and rightfully so. Sebastian was _not_ a happy camper, and it was all because of that one kid. That _one kid_ who didn't even notice him walking by, his eyes were so trained on the floor. That _one freaking kid_ who didn't get out of his way.

Blaine Anderson.

Oh, there were a _lot_ of reasons to be mad because of Blaine Anderson. First and foremost? He, the betraying ex-Warbler, was only at Dalton for a day after half a school year MIA before he managed to snatch Sebastian's spot in the glee club away from him. Gone were his solos, gone were his plans, gone were his hours of practicing… All because of him. _Blaine_. And that wasn't the only reason to hate him –not like his blatant stealing of a spot he had earned, he had _worked for_, wasn't enough.

Blaine Anderson was also his one that got away. He had resisted all of his charms, and look where it landed him! Cheated on. Yeah, Sebastian knew all about that. It may have been a boys' school, but news traveled fast through Dalton, especially gossip as important as this. Resident superstar now-returned Warbler Blaine had gotten his heart broken by one of their own? Ha, like that one could avoid the rumor mill.

The whole thing actually annoyed Sebastian in two ways. First, really? Blaine was a moron. He had no right to go around looking all downtrodden when Sebastian had been his for the taking all along. Second, again, really? How dare Kurt hurt Sebastian's Blaine like that! He was _Sebastian's_ toy to play with, not Kurt's. Even preschoolers know not to break what doesn't belong to them.

So yeah, he was angry, especially because Sebastian could see just how hurt Blaine really was. He just looked sad… like one of those stupid, abandoned puppies on _Animal_ _Cops_ who have all the ticks clogging up their ears and their eyes look all big since their so skinny… In fact, it was disturbing how many similarities Sebastian could find there. The only real difference was that Blaine wasn't bug-infested and nobody was taking away Kurt's right to own pets.

Ew. Now Sebastian was picturing his soon-to-be sock-puppet with worms all crawling under his skin…

What? Oh, yes. His soon-to-be sock-puppet. Look, Blaine might have taken his spot, blew him off, and been sort of an emotional mess right now, but Sebastian still held _big_ expectations for their future together. Blaine was sort of more… angular than Sebastian remembered him being –_how did that kid get so skinny?_- but he was still gorgeous. His eyes really _did_ look _giant,_ what with his face having been tiny before, and Sebastian had to admit he liked the idea of a pair of those looking up at him while he-

Okay, no. We're not going there.

But the point was the same. Blaine may have been damaged goods, but Sebastian had been keeping his eye on him for a while now. He was like a torn Superman costume from one of the movies; he may have been a bit less valuable, but Sebastian could still wear him in the privacy of his bedroom.

And really? Sebastian didn't mind his new look that much. He might have been freaking hot before, but now that he was skinnier… Mmmm, yes. He definitely needed some of that action. Plus, Sebastian had always like the idea of being able to throw someone around a bit. He knew he was a _bit _controlling and _slightly_ aggressive, but he also knew that could be _fun_. It would especially be fun with a very small, very pretty, very _apathetic_ boy at his command.

Sebastian really did think that Blaine was beautiful. Like, so gorgeous it hurt to look at him and know that he didn't _actually _hold any power over him at all. For all intents and purposes, Blaine was _his_, except in –you know- reality. But that was going to change. If there was one thing that Sebastian knew from being the biggest player in gay boy history, it was that there was no better time to strike than right after a relationship. It could really go only three or four ways.

Angry sex. Always accepted.

Rebound relationship. Unwanted, but not necessarily bad…

Comfort kisses. Nice, but boring…

Rejection.

Naturally, Sebastian wasn't too worried about that one. He was _him_. His face was _flawless_. No one turned him down, and they never would. Regular people were beneath him, even if for some reason Blaine thought he was on a higher level. What gave that kid the right to think he was so important that he could _deny_ him so many times? Hence, "too worried". Normally, there wouldn't have been any uncertainty at all.

Of course, Sebastian had also been in the game long enough to know that whatever result he got depended on how he approached the situation. For example, open arms and a pity pout basically _begged_ for nothing more than a couple charity kisses on his part, while clamoring on about how stupid Kurt was with a bit of inappropriate touching scattered throughout would undoubtedly lead to a furious party atop his sheets.

Luckily, Sebastian knew just what he wanted, and just how to get it.

* * *

><p>"I'm not kidding, David. I'm seriously worried about him. I think I'm getting gray hairs," Wes lamented, sitting cross-legged on his best friend's bed, resting up against his footboard. David smiled at him –a bit empathetically- and leaned up against the wall, letting his head fall against it with a thud.<p>

"I know," he answered, and Wes wasn't sure he did. Honestly, he felt sick right now, and it was all because of Blaine. He just didn't know what to do with him… It wasn't like he wasn't making a valiant effort to be happy or anything, the little guy was _trying_, but… he wasn't getting it!

"No… you don't. It's like he's on another planet where he's all…" Wes trailed off, not wanting to say what he was thinking. He was _thinking_ words like 'ugly' and 'unwanted', but actually_ saying_ those things would really make crap feel… real. Real in a bad way. Like… in an unfixable way, so he settled. "Wrong," he said, and mulled over his choice for a moment, before realizing he didn't like the sound of that word either and changed his mind. "He's thinking wrong," he amended, and David nodded.

"I know, Wes. And I know how frustrating this is for you. He's letting you –well, both of us- close physically, but he's a million miles away… And I hate it. But some things take time; you know that." And Wes did know that. It had taken weeks for baby Blaine to get out of his shell his first time at Dalton. He had still had bruises littering his body and broken bones to prove what people _really_ thought of him -at least, what they did in _his_ mind- and didn't seem to get that Wes was more than a fake smile.

Wes had hated that, too. Almost as much as he hated this. Cause back then… Blaine may have hidden himself better, but he also had less to hide. Wes knew there was a lot of crap going on his brain, and it made him nauseous. He could tell. He could _tell_. Blaine ducked his head in front of mirrors, and he picked at his food, and he looked surprised when people listened to him for long periods of time, and Wes could _tell_. He knew there were bad things brewing in Blaine, and he hated it, and he hated Kurt, and he hated being scared to leave razors in the bathroom in case Blaine repeated his apparent freshman year, and he hated all the padding he had to put around him…

Shoot.

Everything is awful.

Suddenly, there was a hand on Wes's knee, and he looked up –caught off guard- into David's eyes. Guess he had spaced out… "Sorry, bro. I'm just… freaking out. I love him like he's my own or whatever –shut up, and get used to it," Wes yelped at the smirk on David's face. He was _not_ a mama bear! He was just… protective… He continued, "But he doesn't seem to understand it. David. I just want him to be happy." Wes felt desperate. The patient look in David's eyes was about to throw him over the edge.

"I know, and he's getting there. Ever since you've put me on meal duty, I've been seeing him fill out a little more. That's a start. And Nick and Jeff have all the same classes with him, and they say he's been fine lately. Trent says he's evoked a real smile out of him, too. I mean, I know those are things that you don't want to be difficult for him, but they _are_ a sign that he's getting there. It's gonna get easier, Wes. I promise." David flashed him a smile, but Wes wasn't buying.

"It doesn't matter. This whole freaking thing is just proof that Blaine has _never_ been comfortable with himself. We thought we were doing so great last year, and he turns around and falls back into the same pit of self-loathing he was trapped in the beginning of tenth grade. We can't help him, David." Wes let the words tumble out, ignoring how hopeless he was making the situation feel.

"Wes-" David started in a warning tone, but Wes wasn't listening, nor did he care. Besides, he was on a roll.

"_David_," he mimicked, interrupting. "Don't act like what I'm saying isn't one hundred percent true. Like, honestly? I'm worried that one of those closets deprived his brain of oxygen or he was kicked in the head a little to hard because he's _messed up_. It isn't _fair_, David. He shouldn't be thinking this way."

"_Wes," _David hissed, tone a little sharper, but he didn't want to hear it.

"No, you know it's true. He needs love, and I'm trying to give that to him, and you're trying to give that to him, and _everyone_ is trying to give that to him, but it's never going to be enough. It's so freaking hopeless. And I thought Kurt… I thought Kurt could have fixed that for him, but apparently Blaine wasn't good enough for him, and he needed someone hotter. Like Blaine wasn't enough for him to -UGH!" David suddenly lunged himself at Wes, wrestling to get a hand over his mouth.

Wes struggled to push him off, but then noticed the other boy wasn't looking at him. No, he was looking at the door way… The head council member struggled to tilt his head to see what David was staring at, but the second he had he wished he hadn't.

Crap.

Wes's eyes met Blaine's, the younger boy standing in the doorframe and leaning on it heavily, like his legs were about to give out. Tears were shining in his eyes, and Wes wondered how much he heard and when he came in, but he had a feeling he knew it was probably at the very start of his rant. _Crap_. Why hadn't he listened to David? He met the older boy's eyes and enough understanding passed between them that David let him up.

"Blaine," Wes started, rolling off the bed and reaching out to him, but tears were already spilling over his cheeks. Oh gosh, Wes _hated_ seeing him cry. It made him look so young and breakable… He put his hands on his shoulders, and Blaine sort of collapsed in to him. Okay, Wes had sort of expected him to pull away, but this was fine. A bit scary, but fine…

"I'm hopeless," Blaine murmured into his chest as Wes wrapped his arms tight around him. He hated how familiar the feel of his too small shoulders felt. "I'm hopeless and messed up," he said quietly, and Wes wanted to kick himself until he blacked out. Why? Why did everything have to be so hard?

"No you're not, Blaine… You're just scared…" he muttered back, feeling increasingly stressed by the way David was watching them. But he was good at handling Blaine, even if it made him angst to the point of saying stupid things. He had it down to a science, the way he was trembling in his arms proving that perfectly. "You're just scared…"

**I watched the 25****th**** anniversary of Phantom of the Opera with my bestie NerdySkeleton, and holy crap… I can't accurately describe to you with words how incredible it was. The entire thing was so beautiful, I don't… And their voices? I can sing, but that was… I can't **_**imagine**_** having something so beautiful come out of me… Like… oh my gosh… I can't even tell you about this.**

**It was incredible. And I wanna marry Hardley Fraiser so freaking bad, and I love the Phantom so much, I don't know what to do, and Christine was fantastic… oh gosh. OH GOSH!**

**If you have the means, I highly recommend it. **


	12. Making A Move

**Woot, this is exciting! I feel all nervous about this chapter for absolutely no reason! I feel with more and more of you becoming interested, the more flustered you make me….**

**Am I the only person who comes home and, like, strips? Like, I just put on tiny shorts and a little shirt every time I come home from school…**

**Also, am I the only person sadly obsessed with musicals? I worry about that… Like, people mention Klaine having Disney marathons, and I'm just like "MUSICALS? EVER?" Ugh, the stress…**

Mercedes was pretty amped about her evening. Lately, she had been going out with Shane a lot, the whole Sam being gayer than the Fourth of July thing taking a good bit of strain off of their relationship, but tonight? Tonight Mercedes wasn't seeing anyone but a giant ice cream sundae and a depressingly complete collection of John Hughes movies. Sometimes a girl just needed some "me" time, and _The Breakfast Club_ was the ideal way to start it off.

She was just about to pop the first movie in, when the doorbell rang, followed quickly by frantic knocking. Mercedes sighed, hoping that the late night visitor wasn't there for her. She was glaring when she opened the door, but her face immediately softened when she caught sight of her best friend Kurt's face, tears staining his cheeks. "Kurt?" she asked, ridiculously surprised. She hadn't been seeing a lot of him lately, what with his two boyfriends and now his very attractive one, so Kurt really hadn't come over unannounced in awhile. Plus, you know, he was crying… and that was kind of shocking… He sniffed.

"Can I come in?" he asked, voice cracking, and Mercedes nodded, opening her front door a little wider so the boy could slip through. She eyed her curious parents in the kitchen and opted to drag Kurt up to her bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Once they both had plopped down on her bed, he spoke again. "I've been missing everything," he said quietly, and that took Mercedes off guard because –yes- he had, but she hadn't expected him to realize it. She hummed.

"And why do you say that?" she asked, testing him. Kurt pulled away a bit and wrung his hands together. Mercedes hated to admit that she sort of liked the sight of that. About time he figure out how stupid he was being…

"I was making out with Sam like usual," he explained, and Mercedes couldn't help but let a scowl cross over her face. She liked Blaine… she really had liked Blaine… Kurt, however, continued, undeterred. "And then he randomly stopped and started rambling about how he was scared that I was going to mess him up or whatever like I apparently did to Blaine, and then he left all in a huff, and… Mercedes… what did I do?" he asked, confusion swirling in his light eyes. "I only cheated!"

Mercedes was sort of appalled that Kurt _still_ hadn't been able to figure out what he had done. Like… really? How difficult could this possibly be? All Kurt had to do was freaking look at the kid! She rubbed her forehead before getting up and heading to her computer. "Hold on," she said, leaning down to search something on her laptop.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Kurt asked, sounding flustered, and Mercedes waved her hand in his direction to calm him down. Kurt fell silent, and she flipped through her albums on Facebook, searching for one particular picture… Once she found it, she opened another tab and pulled up Blaine Anderson's Timeline. Mercedes stuffed her computer under her arm and bounced onto her bed again, sitting cross-legged in front of Kurt and turning her laptop to face him.

"Okay, who do you see?" she asked, pointing to Blaine's profile picture, and Kurt rolled her eyes and effectively threw her an 'are you kidding me?' look. She frowned. "Answer the question, white boy," she said with a glare. Kurt sometimes made things so freaking difficult sometimes… She loved him to death, but the kid sure could make it hard.

"I see _Blaine_," he answered, and Mercedes shook her head, a faint, sad smile pulling at her lips because… well, really?

"No, see, you're looking at Blaine _before_ you started going behind his back with Sam," she explained slowly, bringing her finger to her track pad and holding her breath for a second before switching tabs to the picture she had opened up previously. "This is Blaine," she told him, and shut her eyes against Kurt's gasp. She had picked her picture well…

It was probably one that didn't exactly belong on the Internet, only because Blaine looked so pathetic in it, he might have found it embarrassing… He was sitting in a chair at what was supposed to be a fun birthday party for Rachel, but his face looked so… _sad_. He was seated next to Kurt, but they weren't touching at all –the taller boy's attention obviously elsewhere. It was taken under harsh florescent lights, making the younger boy look falsely pale and the bags under his eyes a bit darker than they actually were. That was okay; Kurt had to understand what New Directions had basically been looking at… And –yes- Blaine looked skinny. Like… you-couldn't-ignore-it skinny. Like, oh-dear-honey-come-inside-and-I'll-bake-you-a-couple-cakes-to-eat skinny. But the worst part?

Kurt's smile.

Because he was happy when Blaine wasn't.

Mercedes didn't want to seem mean, but she was honestly enjoying Kurt's reaction to the photo. It reminded her that the other boy actually had a heart. She had sort of been forgetting that lately, and it was apparent to her that Kurt had been also. Because Blaine wasn't supposed to look like that… and Kurt knew it better than anyone, even if he didn't notice him starting to… Tears were dripping down his face.

"I did that?" he asked, but from the way he was crying, it was obvious he already knew the answer. She just nodded, and Kurt's shoulders heaved. "I… I messed up," he hiccupped, and Mercedes couldn't help but pull him into a hug, he looked so wounded. "I don't even _want_ Sam; this isn't fun anymore…" he said.

Mercedes pulled away, and looked him in the eyes as Kurt basically snotted all over himself. She could honestly couldn't stand the idea that this was the first time he was noticing how terribly he had been hurting Blaine, but she wasn't in a position to comment, as she had sat by and _watched _it happen. How could she have just let things go like that…? "Well, how are you going to fix it?" she asked, and Kurt collapsed into a puddle of tears.

"I don't know!" he wailed, and Mercedes huffed under her breath.

"You could try apologizing," she suggested, "Groveling would be a good option. You really hurt him, Kurt. You need to do _something_." She wrapped her arms around waist, trying to ignore how guilty she felt herself. The boy on the foot of her bed struggled to wipe his nose on an already soaked designer shirtsleeve. He'd _so_ be regretting that when he did the laundry… He nodded, struggling to catch a breath.

"Oh, God… I _know_. Oh… _crap_, look at him, Mercedes! But they won't let me see him, I can't… I can't…" he broke off, and Mercedes just arched an eyebrow, confused.

"Who won't let you see him?" she asked, and by the way Kurt was crying, she was able to piece the answer together before he even spoke. Shoot… There was absolutely no way… not with _them_ to go up against. If there was one thing Mercedes knew, it was how protective they could be… Kurt sniffed.

"The Warblers."

* * *

><p>Blaine felt… weird. Like, at this point, he was used to feeling worthless and stupid and… <em>awful<em>, but with Wes actually voicing how messed up he was… Oh gosh, he just felt _hopeless_. He was so sick of having to deal with all this crap. Why did life have to be so freaking hard?

He was sitting between Jeff and Nick during study hall, trying and failing to let himself get absorbed by _The Odyssey _like the two boys flanking him were. Ugh, how did they even do that? This thing was impossible to read when his brain _wasn't _so preoccupied… He was about to throw the book down on the table, when he caught sight of Sebastian leaning against the door frame of the common room, a smirk adorning his face in a way that Blaine wasn't quite sure he liked.

His stomach twisted. To be honest, Sebastian sort of scared the crap out of him… First, just looking at his face made his heart hurt, as he admittedly _was_ rather attractive, but Blaine had been faithful despite this, whereas Kurt _hadn't_. Second, the taller boy constantly looked like a hungry lioness going after an abandoned baby gazelle with a broken leg. And Blaine _knew_ he was that gazelle, he _knew it_. Even though he was well aware that Sebastian wasn't going to come and devour his flesh, Blaine still felt an awful lot like prey…

Blaine hadn't exactly realized that Sebastian had met his eyes until he noticed the other boy beckoning him with one hand, his smirk having grown into a full out smile. Holy crap, how could a person be so creepy? Blaine numbly got out of his seat, struggling to muster a reassuring smile for Nick and Jeff when their eyes immediately locked onto him due to his movement.

"Blaine, are you okay?" Jeff asked, biting his lower lip, and Blaine _hated_ how nervous he knew he was making the blonde. It made him feel so guilty… because, gosh, he was _hopeless_, so that was never going to change -no matter how bad he wanted it to- and Blaine knew that Jeff didn't deserve that. He rubbed his eyes, searching his soul for some kind of feeling to comfort Jeff with.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to go talk to Sebastian for a second," he said, not seeing the point in lying. The kid may have been hunting him, but it's not like Nick or Jeff thought he was so in need of protection that he couldn't talk to someone without the pair standing stiff at each shoulder. Still, Nick shifted in his seat, sticking his bookmark in his spot and twisting a hand into the strap of his messenger bag.

"Do you want back up?" he asked, eyes searching, and Blaine stifled a sighed.

"No, It'll be fine… and I'll right back," he tagged to the end, earning a look of relief from both of the boys sitting before him. Jeff returned to his book, obviously satisfied, while Nick watched him leave for a minute before reading on in his own copy. Crisis averted… now to dive into another one. Sebastian's smile grew impossibly wider as he led him out into the hallway. "What did you need?" Blaine asked, and he hated how small and… innocent his voice sounded. He honestly sounded sad and confused all the time. Maybe that was how he was feeling, but he didn't want other people to _know_.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Sebastian said with an honest look in his eyes that put Blaine off a bit. There had been a reason he and the slightly menacing boy talked from time to time previously, but this was… weird. Blaine wasn't used to a Sebastian he didn't have to be guarded around, and it was exceptionally different when he looked so… well, nice.

"About what?" Blaine asked, a little nervous to be allowing himself to be in this situation. Sebastian shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know…" he trailed off, and suddenly, Sebastian was _touching_ him, and honestly Blaine wanted nothing more than for his hand to be off his shoulder because, crap, only _Kurt_ was supposed to touch there, and why did it still have to hurt so bad to know that he didn't want to? Why did everything have to hurt so bad? "I've just been worried about you… I mean, I've always liked you, Blaine. You know that. Just because you're not with , well…" Sebastian gave him a sympathetic smile, "_him_, that didn't change." Blaine knew he was terrified for no good reason, especially when Sebastian's face looked so freaking earnest, but _crap…_

"I don't… I mean… what?" he asked, too flustered to be coherent in even the loosest sense of the word. And then Sebastian was threading his fingers through his own, and Blaine didn't want to be _touched_ like that, especially because Kurt had always thought holding hands was so important, and –gosh- why was Sebastian doing this to him? He felt so freaking uncomfortable… Didn't he see? Why wouldn't he see? He shouldn't have come out here; he should have brought Nick and Jeff… Ugh, stop, stop, _stop, STOP!_

"Look, Blaine. I know you're still kind of reeling after everything that happened to you, but… don't you think that now would be the perfect time to give us a chance?" Sebastian asked, and he actually looked _hopeful_. What? Blaine shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying not to freak out. He sent an anxious look through the doorway to the table where Nick and Jeff sat, the former looking at him worriedly.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Come on, Blaine. Seriously, think about it! Kurt doesn't want you anymore, but I do. A lot," he said, and Blaine _tried _to understand him, but he could barely take in the other boy's words, as his freaking hand was on his leg, and he was… he was rubbing his thigh up and down. He wasn't allowed to do that… He wasn't allowed to do that! But try as he may, Blaine was scared a bit too stiff to push him away. He glanced back at Nick again. _Save me… oh, gosh… please save me…_

"Sebastian, I can't d-" Blaine tried to talk, but Sebastian's face coming far to close to his own cut him off. Their profiles were linked together in that way that only occurred when people kissed, and Sebastian's lips were so close to his own, that Blaine could _feel_ his smile.

"Think of how happy you'd feel again," Sebastian all but whispered, his mouth ghosting over Blaine's, and he shuddered. _Get off, get off, get off… Nick!_

"Sebastian! You get the hell off of him, or I'll freaking tear that precious little head of hair of yours right out!"

**Sometimes, I read all the little notes I leave for my chapters, and they make me laugh. Like… I think it was chapter 22 or something? Bwahaha. Hilarious… I crack myself off.**

**My mom offered to make mashed potatoes for dinner tonight cause we were having something I didn't want and thought it would excited me. I gave up potatoes for lent. *****dies ***

**Also, today was horrible for me. I'm hoping yours were better? PLEASE SHARE! I wanna know ;D **


	13. Everything Has To Be Hard

**Okay, so… because my bullying one-shot has to be published on Saturday, my schedule now looks like this, for all those who care: Delayed Regret (this), a cute little Niff, James Hurt/Comfort one-shot, WSB, BIDs, Delayed Regret again, a very fun Blangst, a horribly dark I-don't-know-how-to-keep-it-at-a-T-but-I'll-try Blangst, and THEN my Bullying one-shot… But you never know. I'm in a writing mood, so a whole bunch of crap could go down…**

"Sebastian! You get the hell off of him, or I'll freaking tear that precious little head of hair of yours right out!"

Jeff was thrown out of his book by the sound of Wes's voice from the hallway. The blonde felt his stomach tied up in knots when he looked up to _just_ see Sebastian's face pulling away from Blaine's and a furious Wes's approaching from the direction of the English rooms, bathroom pass in hand. He looked to Nick for help, but he just raised a hand to quite him. Jeff bit his lip, and threaded his fingers through the brunette's as the pair got up from the table, making their way to the showdown in the hallway.

"Lay off, Wes. We were only talking," Sebastian said, but the head council member didn't look sold. Jeff was starting to wish he hadn't missed what happened, especially with the way Blaine was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. He looked anxious, but not in the way Jeff was used to.

He didn't understand what was happening. Why did Blaine look all scared and stuff? And why was Wes so mad? And what had Sebastian been _doing_? Why did his Nickpea look so guilty? Unfortunately, he didn't have a way to get his questions answered, as anger was practically sizzling off Wes, his eyes closed up into slits. Jeff bet they'd be glowing red if he opened them a bit farther…

"Yeah, because talking requires your face touching Blaine's," he said sarcastically. Okay, confession time: Jeff absolutely hated when Wes got angry. He was _scary_, even when he wasn't on the other end of it. Wes was honestly about as close as it got to a school mom at Dalton, and it was terrifying to see him get so mad. He shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable, but a squeeze of his hand from Nick had him stilled.

"_Relax_," Sebastian said with a glare, nodding his head to Blaine, "I don't think he had a problem with it." And suddenly Wes was right up in Sebastian's face because –yes- even to Jeff it appeared that Blaine had a problem with whatever "it" was, and he was coming at the tall boy _fast_.

"Do anything else to make this worse, and I swear, I will send the heel of my shoe straight into your-"

"Woah, that's enough," David said, seemingly popping out of no where and effectively pulling Wes away by dragging his arms behind his back and hoisting him off to the side. Jeff watched as the more levelheaded Warbler spun Wes around and pointed him down the hallway, snagging Blaine by the arm and pulling him off –presumably to their dorm- all while giving Sebastian a pointed glare. Say what you wanted about David, but the kid had perfect timing and was practically _fluid_, he moved so smoothly…

Jeff blinked a couple times, watching as Sebastian stalked down the hallway. What had just happened? He looked to Nick again, and the other boy offered him a sympathetic look, producing his bag from who knows where and handing it to him to carry as they started off down the hallway to their own dorm. That was great thing about Nick; he never actually had to talk be heard with him. He hadn't even had to _look_. It was seventh period study hall, and Jeff felt traumatized, so they were headed to their room. No discussion needed…

He kept his fingers latched around Nick's tightly as they twisted their way through the labyrinth that was the Dalton hallways. Nick's hand was hot in his, but he didn't want to break away. Jeff was so confused… Why did Wes have to be so mad? What had Sebastian done to make him so angry…? Jeff just… he _hated _when Wes was heated like that. He couldn't properly convey how distressed it made him feel.

"Nick…" he croaked, having failed miserably at trying to keep his thoughts off of how furious Wes had just looked and the thought feeling heavy on his heart. Then, suddenly, Nick was pulling his hand away, and Jeff panicked for a second, before an arm was latching around his waist. Weird… Why did it now feel like he was taking his first breath of fresh air?

The shorter boy didn't say anything until they made it to their room, and Jeff collapsed in a desk chair backwards, throwing his arms on top of the back and burying his face in them. He let out a groan, and he could practically _feel_ Nick smirk. "Everything has to be difficult, doesn't it?" Nick asked, and Jeff merely let out a moan in response.

Hands grabbed at his shoulders and pushed him away from his chair just enough so that Nick could squeeze in for a hug. Jeff was lost for a second before breathing in the other boy's scent and pulling him tight against him because everything _was_ hard, and he was _sick_ of it, but sometimes Nick could feel just so easy, and Jeff really, really, really needed a proper hug right now. Nick squirmed in his arms.

"This is a terribly uncomfortable position," he whined and Jeff just squeezed him tighter, not intent on letting him go. "Jeff, I'm pretty sure my back is gonna snap," he complained after a minute or two, "stand up or lemme sit on your lap," he said, and Jeff went for the second choice, bringing one long arm low to sweep under Nick's knees and sit him down. Oh gosh, why didn't he get held like this more often?

"I just don't get it, Three… why is everything suddenly so messed up? I don't… I don't understand," he sputtered, and Nick's chest rose and fell quickly against his own for a second as he laughed lightly. He felt fingers thread through his hair.

"I think's been messed up for a while, Jeffie. You just haven't noticed," he said, and Jeff didn't know what to make of that. He didn't think he was oblivious. Luckily, Nicky had another thing to say, even if it was quietly. "You're just innocent like that." Okay, so maybe that just confused him more. But Jeff couldn't help but feel some sort of warmness swell up in his heart.

There was a knock at the door, followed by the creak of it's hinges, and David was there with Blaine underarm. "Hey guys, would you mind if me and Wes had a moment al- oh," the boy cut himself off, and Jeff felt a blush seeping to his cheeks because David _obviously_ thought he was interrupting something, and it wasn't really _something_ something, just a thing, so… awkward. Nick, however, smiled, undeterred.

"Yeah, sure. Blaine, come hang out," Nick said, and Jeff noticed how cheery he was trying to make his voice sound for the shorter boy. He watched Blaine shuffle in, and there was a bit of a pang in his heart, but the way Nick was still sitting in his lap made all the pain filter away.

* * *

><p>Blaine felt physically sick. Sick like, I'm-about-to-throw-up-all-over-your-shoes sick. Did what just happen count as cheating? It had recently dawned on Blaine how much he <em>hated<em> cheaters, and he would rather not become one himself on the off chance that Kurt still considered them a couple. Kurt… he loved Kurt. It was why he couldn't freaking _shake this_.

He honestly wasn't this kind of person… Blaine was all about moving on and looking for the happiness in things, but it just… it was getting so _hard_. He was so, so sick of people not caring about him, and it _hurt_. It _still hurt_ to think of all the times he was thrown in dumpsters or locked in closets or called mean names… and it still hurt to think about what Kurt did to him.

There wasn't any closure for him, and all this pain that he had milling about in him was doing just that: milling about. Festering. He didn't want to feel it anymore, but –crap- everything was getting to be way too much, and he couldn't… Blaine couldn't suppress it anymore. He wasn't strong enough to push all that down any longer, it was too heavy a burden to bear.

Sometimes… sometimes it felt like the names he was so accustomed to being called were crushing him, all the terrible things done to him were _crushing him_, and it was all he could do but hold his head in his hands and try to breathe… all he had to do was _breathe_.

He just… he couldn't do this. He couldn't be good enough. Every time he tried, it just upset someone else. Every time he tried to be skinny enough or smart enough or strong enough, his friends got upset. Blaine didn't want anyone to be upset anymore. He wanted to be _right_. He was never right, and he wanted to be right so, so bad. How could everyone have things so together, when it just felt like he was falling apart all the time?

Why did people want him? How could someone want him? Why did Sebastian want him? He was so… wrong and stupid and broken, and you'd have to be _blind _not to see it. Of course, Kurt didn't see it, but Kurt didn't care.

Because Kurt _was_ perfect, so why would he bother with someone who _wasn't_?

Blaine didn't like who he was starting to become. It was like he was turning into a figure made of impossibly thin papier-mâché- so thin, brittle, and dry, that you could stick your fingers straight through him and find nothing in the middle. Blaine was hollow. He felt _hollow_. And he wasn't getting any better. Wes's words not his. He just happened to know that they were true…

Why did… why did he have to feel so alone? Why did… why was he the only one? Why was he always the only one? How come it seemed harder for him to take a breath of air than anyone else- harder to _want_ to take a breath of air? Why did no one seem to see how bad everything hurt? Why didn't anyone understand what it felt like to be so trapped underwater with no hope of seeing the surface? Why? Why was he drowning? Why did it have to be _him_ to drown? He didn't want to be stuck like this; he wanted to swim, but his legs felt as heavy as lead and every single part of him was just too tired to move anymore.

Blaine had been fighting so long. He didn't want to have to do this anymore. It was enough… it was the only thing about him that was enough, and he didn't want it.

Why did everything have to be so hard?

**Meh, sort of filler… and also really short. But I didn't have much to say. This was a weird one…**

**I'm so tired… I almost don't want to write anymore, but I can feel the need within me, so I think I'll take a nap and then go for it. **


	14. Not So Planned

**STORY TIME! Get amped! **

**Okay, so you know how I call Blaine "Blaine-a-bee" all the time cause it's my nickname for him? WELL, I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHY! I don't know if any of you have watched "Hello, Dolly", but it's kind of my favorite musical to ever happen ever. (Barbra Striesand. Get it together. Netflix instant streaming.) **

**Anyway. There's this little character in it named Barnaby Tucker. He looks nothing like Blaine. He acts nothing Blaine. There are no similarities at all. But for some reason every time I hear that part in the song "Sunday Clothes" where Cornelius Hackle (played by Micheal Crawford. Seriously, what are you doing? Go watch this) sings "Close your eyes and see it glisten, Barnaby! LISTEN, BARNABY!" I can't help but think of Darren Criss…**

**Barnaby=Blaine-a-bee**

Nick Duval liked to consider himself a levelheaded person. He wasn't as incredible as _David_ in that respect; he knew he could be a little bit irrational, especially when it came to meeting new people. "_Jeff, I swear, they're not going to like me. They probably already don't." _But he was pretty good at keeping it cool. It's what made him such an 'A+' babysitter and comforter. Nick was relatively good at keeping calm under pressure and in intense situations. Sure, there were exceptions, like that one time at camp when Jeff fell off of the water slide and ended up with a compound break in his arm and blood all over the place…

And now.

Right now would be an exception.

Nick honestly… He acted calm. He looked calm. He even felt generally calm. But on the inside he was a _mess_. It felt like his brain was at war with itself, and Nick didn't actually know what he was supposed to be doing. Nothing made _sense_. Everything just felt so complicated; there was drama at every turn, and none of it ever seemed to die down. His head felt all… muddled. Really, really muddled.

He supposed it was mostly because he was just worried. The more he tried to take care of Blaine, the more he felt like things were falling apart, especially when Sebastian was lurking and leering behind every corner. Nick did his best to never let the older boy have a chance alone with Blaine, but… he wouldn't _go away_. It made Nick want to hit something. Anything. He didn't like the way the other boy was staring at Blaine like a side dish he was going to tear into face first. Sebastian was a cannibal, and Blaine had already been eaten away too much to survive with him in the picture.

It was so stressful. Everything was _so stressful_. Blaine was a wreck, and he was a wreck and… and _Jeff_ was a wreck. Nick _hated_ when Jeff was a wreck. Hated it. Especially when he was around. Nick was supposed to take care of Jeff. He was his best friend, and it was basically Nick's _duty_ to take care of him, even more so when it came to his… feelings or whatever. Nick was good with people, and he was good with Jeff. It was his job to be good with Jeff.

But right now. Right now would still be an exception.

He didn't know what to _do_. He couldn't actually _fix_ anything for him. He could give him hugs and hold him as tightly as he needed –which wasn't hard in any respect- but there wasn't anything concrete he could do. Nick couldn't wipe away the problem like he so desperately wanted to. Like _Jeff_ wanted him to.

That freaking drove Nick _crazy_. This was Jeff. His Jeff. _His Jeff_ with his stupid blonde hair, and his annoyingly green eyes, and his frustrating voice that could make angels stop to listen... He had to fix things. He had to fix so many things because Jeff was… Jeff was his.

His Jeff.

Nick liked the sound of that.

Frankly, when it came to Jeff Sterling, Nick Duval wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself. He kind of… he kind of loved him… kind of. It's not like he was crushing hard, but… but sometimes Nick liked pretending that they weren't holding hands just because they were best friends. Sometimes he liked to lace their fingers together and make believe that their closeness was so much more.

But that's all it was: pretending. And that's all it was going to be. Jeff didn't like Nick; he knew that. Well… maybe. But that maybe meant that there was a chance –and a high one at that- Jeff didn't like him back. So, despite Nick's somewhat depressing adoration of the blonde, he would keep everything bottled up until he literally went crazy because of it.

A crush wasn't worth destroying their friendship over. After all, Nick couldn't think of anything worse than being rejected without a best friend to hug him and make it better. Yeah… no thank you. That would be completely and utterly awful. Besides… a day without Jeff? Nick would rather spend 100 years agonizing about what he and Jeff might have been than just 24 hours without him. So he'd stay quiet.

Even if Jeff walked around the room shirtless after his shower.

Even if Nick found their hands latched together constantly between classes.

Even if they went out every Friday night, no matter the date.

No… he wouldn't tell Jeff ever.

Nick was splayed down at the end of his bed, head thrown over the edge and hanging upside-down. His laptop was sitting upright on the floor, and his eyes were trained to the screen. He had been watching _Rugrats_ for the past six hours. Anything to just stop… _thinking_ for a moment. He was about to put on another episode when Trent burst into the room. The other boy's face was bright red and he seemed to be rather worked up about something.

"Dude, you have a phone call," he said a bit nervously, and –really- when was Trent one to be nervous? Nick immediately flipped up in bed. He tried to quell the fear seizing his heart and respond.

"Who's it from?" he asked, doing everything in his power to keep his head clear. Not something else. Nick couldn't take something else. Trent shifted from foot to foot, biting his lip, and Nick waited impatiently, his arms folded across his chest and fidgeting restlessly. Trent eventually ran a hand through his hair and cracked his fingers.

"Well, it's not really for you… It's kinda for all of us, but I didn't want to get Wes cause he can get so mad, and I figured that you would be the best person to go to cause you guys were sorta buddies last year and all, plus you're pretty good with people, but I don't quite know if you want to talk to him or have it be someone else or whatever cause-"

"Who is it _from_, Trent?" Nick questioned again, effectively cutting him off and maybe throwing him the tiniest little glare. He was worried; he couldn't help it. Trent scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Kurt."

* * *

><p>"Thank you so much, I can't even tell you how much I appreciate this," Kurt babbled as he dragged his chair in toward the table he had saved for the Warblers. They didn't look impressed. In fact, each boy was regarding him quite skeptically, and it took all of Kurt's will power not to get snippy at their expressions. He invited them here. This was coffee at the Lima Bean. Kurt could do this. He could <em>do this<em>. For Blaine.

"What else could you possibly want, Kurt?" Wes asked, eyes narrowed at him and his tone level. "What haven't we given yet?" Kurt pressed his lips together, fiddling with the cuffs of the button down he had folded over his sweater. This was already not turning out the way he had planned it, and he hadn't even said anything yet. Plus, Wes seemed to be out for the kill, each word shooting him like an arrow through the heart. He shifted uncomfortably.

"I want to apologize to you and… I wanna be given the chance to apologize to Blaine, too," he said, and he could feel the blush heating up his cheeks. "I figured this would be the better way to go about it," Kurt explained. Even the tips of his ears felt hot, and he had no doubt they were probably _glowing_ red.

David and Wes were the only two sharing the table with him. He had thought that maybe Jeff and Nick would have come since Nick had been the one to field his call… He had been hoping _Blaine_ would be there, but it was just the three of them. It was intimidating to be on the other side of the table from the two council members when they weren't furious with him, and the way both David and Wes were looking at him now? Crap, Kurt just wanted to hide underneath the table. He looked at his hands, trying to seem relaxed as he picked at the cardboard around his coffee cup.

"Could you please say something?" he murmured and watched a lightning fast glance between the two Warbler boys. They seemed to have communicated despite the briefness of the look, and all of a sudden, David was on him, words fast and hot.

"Okay. I think we're going to ignore the second half of that for the sake of all of our sanity because," he paused to laugh, "no. Not ever. At least not under our watch, and we'll just focus on the first half. Apologize to us? For what?" Kurt hung his head in shame. He didn't want to answer this question. Saying all this aloud… Well, if he didn't _already_ feel like a crappy person…

"For… I don't know, for ignoring what it was doing to him… what _I _was doing to him…" he said slowly, his eyes fixing on an unfamiliar Navigator resting in the coffee shop's parking lot…. He was a moron… "For leaving you guys to pick up the pieces and for…" this time his breath hitched. Kurt hated the burning behind his eyes, knowing he was going to cry. "For letting you trust me and- and for letting _him_ trust me and then… then ruining all that," he said, closing his eyes for the briefest second before opening them to David and Wes's disappointed faces.

"Okay, awesome," Wes said while standing up to leave, shrugging his coat over his shoulders and making to wrap his scarf around his neck, David doing the same. Kurt panicked. What? He hadn't gotten anywhere! They hadn't even forgiven him! He snagged Wes's arm as he headed for the door.

"Wait, that's it? Are we okay? Do I get to see Blaine?" he asked, and the other boy whipped around to look at him straight on.

"What? No. _No_. As far as I'm concerned, we will _never_ be okay. Where the hell was your loyalty, Kurt? You just… You don't get it. We don't care about you anymore. We've got bigger problems to attend to, and I personally don't need to add you to that list. We Warblers don't like those who cause harm to our own, so we certainly don't like you. And as for Blaine? Yeah, again. I'm ignoring that part. You…" Wes trailed off, shaking his head and looking down at the floor. "You just don't _get it_," he finished and walked out the door.

David gave him a look, and Kurt smiled back weakly. "Trust is like a mirror. You can fix it if it's broke, but you can still see the crack in the freaking reflection," Kurt loosely quoted Lady Gaga. David offered him a shrug and followed after Wes, and Kurt watched as they drove away.

No… That hadn't gone the way he planned at all…

**I was really tired, so I looked for "energizing music" on youtube, right? Um, the stuff is FREAKY but it WORKS. So… whatever… there you are. And like… dude. There's a crap load of music made to make you feel different things, and they all WORK. Like… I'm terrified now. What if someone controls my emotions like this? I would never know! I'd just be listening to music and BAM. **

**Also, sorry for the Niff. I honestly just can't help it.**


	15. Schemes With and Without Regret

**Okay, guys. I know that this is another really late chapter, but I'm officially going to let you in on a secret. So get in close… maybe take a seat.**

**I have a special project.**

"**A;sdkfja;lsdkfj OH SHNAP, CHEEKY! QWAT?" Yeah, you heard right. A special project. I call it special because a) there aren't a lot of these, but I think we all secretly love them, b) I've never written one, and c) I'm rather excited about it.**

**What is this special secret that is taking so long? Well, I'm not telling… but I'll let you know.**

**Ugh. That was so weird, and none of you probably care… but WHATEVER! I'm excited! Also, sorry this is another boring chapter. Next time will be awesome, though. So be ready.**

To say Sebastian was heated would be an understatement. It would seem that the Warblers didn't understand that Blaine was now _his. _Kurt was gone. Blaine was single. Sebastian had every right to make his move, but everyone seemed to believe just the opposite.

Blaine _always_ had people around him. Always. Wes had practically glued himself to his hip, and even if he miraculously wasn't there, Nick and Jeff were always linked together by his side.

Confession time: Sebastian _hated_ Nick and Jeff. It wasn't so much as a personal thing, as much as they merely frustrated him constantly. Like… just get together already! He could _see_ the lust in their eyes, but for some reason they both weren't doing anything about it. Like… really? Why? Sebastian was all about announcing his feelings and going in to round the bases. It pissed him off when others couldn't do the same.

But whatever. That wasn't his problem right now. No, Sebastian needed to be solely focused on getting into Blaine's pants before he worried about Niff getting in each other's. The question was _how_. He had freaking watched David pass Blaine off to the gangly blond and squat soloist before leaving him alone.

They were _babysitting him_. What even _was_ that? Sebastian just needed a minute –two minutes tops- alone with him in order to get things moving. Literally sixty seconds. He was Sebastian. It didn't take much.

But that was _impossible_. They were making any way to get close to him impossible. Sebastian didn't _do_ impossible. However, he wasn't exactly "doing" Blaine either.

It was like the Warblers thought they had a right to keep Blaine from him personally. Sebastian knew he probably wasn't _actually_ what was best for the shorter boy right now, but Blaine was what was best for _him_. Sebastian needed –craved- someone malleable, someone he could control, someone who was desperate for him… Before, Blaine had been about a B- on that scale. Now that he had seen his reaction to this Kurt deal, though, Sebastian had realized that Blaine was an A+, perfect fit.

See, Blaine was clearly desperate for acceptance, while Sebastian didn't particularly like giving it out. He actually knew it was pretty wrong, but he liked the idea of someone trying to claw their way into his heart and being able to kick them down with every try. Sebastian wanted to have control, and denying someone? That was control.

It was just hard to get someone in that place where they needed him like that. Well… not too hard. He was sort of hot: no big deal. But sometimes, there were people like Blaine who seemed… immune to him. Like… what? No.

Fortunately, he was anything but undetermined. All he really needed was a plan. Currently, the only time he could pick out where Blaine was completely alone was when he was in the shower, and while he did like the idea of being in there with him, that wasn't exactly the vibe he was trying to put out.

Well. Not the vibe he was trying to put out _now_ anyway…

There had to be something he was missing. Sebastian just needed a minute… a _minute_. All he had to do was watch… So watch he did. He was pretty sure the Warblers had without a doubt noticed his pretty blatant leering by now, but it didn't really matter. It was just a matter of time before that little gap he needed took place. All he would have to do was swoop in and strike.

Then a little kiss to the jaw followed by something seductive whispered right in his ear… yeah. Perfect. Blaine would melt. He wouldn't even have to worry about getting him alone because Blaine would be following him to his room right on the spot.

Or, at least, that was the plan.

Sebastian didn't even stop to think about how greatly he could have miscalculated.

* * *

><p>Okay, now was freak out time. Or at least… it was upcoming. Wes had been acting a bit psycho lately, and what with the way he had been about to rip Sebastian's throat out with his teeth out like a demented <em>Hunger Games<em> contestant the other day, well…. Yeah. David was starting to get worried.

Just a little bit.

He wasn't exactly sure what was causing all of Wes's craziness. David knew that the other boy had barely gotten any sleep since he started rooming with Blaine again: the smaller Warbler apparently restless and kicking Wes all night in his sleep but waking up the second the older boy moved away. He also knew that Wes was extremely protective, but…

Gah. He was just being kind of violent. After he had dropped Blaine off at Niff's, Wes had basically had a seizure over how he didn't know why everything had to fall apart like this. David got that. He didn't understand either. It seemed like the world seemed to target itself at Dalton students, and Blaine was taking on a good deal of all the crap being aimed at them.

You know what? That was the only thing that completely _sucked_ about Dalton. He loved everyone in the school, don't get him wrong, but the majority of them came from bad places from which they didn't get sympathy for enduring. David _hated_ that. Every kid in the building was so deserving of everything life had to offer them, but no one seemed to be able to catch a break, himself included –not that his problems mattered right now.

David was a bit sick of the stress trying to drown him and definitely sick of the entire situation he and his friends were on, and Wes's insanity was definitely not helping. Like… gah, for the love of all that is good, he just needed to calm _down_.

He was taking everything way too personally. Admittedly, everything that happened to Blaine quite directly affected him, so David could sympathize, but… It was just starting to get ridiculous. David also had a lot of worry and fear thrust upon him, not to mention the depression that came with fighting to get someone so close to him to eat, but… he was handling it.

Why couldn't Wes handle it?

It was especially annoying because David had stuff going on, too… It wasn't fair for Wes to constantly use him to keep himself sane, but wasn't there for David when he was feeling crazy. Why- Why did it have to be like that? David was kind of a naturally quiet person, and people talked over him a lot, but… Just because he was quiet, it didn't mean that he didn't want to be heard. Everyone ignored him or didn't care, and David… David cared about them, so he didn't…

Whatever.

_Whatever_.

_His problems didn't matter right now_.

Speaking of his problems, David was about to throw his phone out the window. Kurt Hummel would _not_ stop texting him. He knew he should have followed Wes right out the door without a passing glance because, apparently, now Kurt thought he was weak and wouldn't stop blowing up his phone. Just… gah. David didn't want him around anymore than Wes did.

Well… maybe…

As angry as David was with Kurt for being such a failure in the first place and letting all this happen because… crap, this should _not_ have happened, he was proud of what the other boy was doing to fix it. It had taken him a while –way too long in fact- to realize his mistake, but he was at least trying to make up for it in the right way now. It was obvious to David that Kurt was feeling some sort of delayed regret, and that was starting to become good enough for him…

Good enough for a proper apology, anyway. Especially because David actually thought Blaine needed for Kurt to grovel at his feet. He clearly was having self-esteem issues, and maybe a little pleading from the one that did him wrong would go a long way… Was that so mean to think?

And, like… he was asking _permission_. That was so the right way to go about this… David couldn't help but feel a little bit proud. At least he was getting a clue.

David just wished Wes would.

**Gah. So short… but I even feel like I was STILL getting repetitive. Whatever. Next chapter is more interesting. The chapter after that is even MORE interesting, and then… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Be excited for the one after that. It's… It's gonna get real. WOOT!**

**Promises to update faster. I just gotta get my little thing out of the way (So many words… So. Many. Words.)**


	16. Developing

**Gah, everything is crazy. Sorry this also took so long, I SWEAR. I WILL be updating faster nowish… especially as it's Spring Break! I mean, a five day Spring Break, but I still plan to get some things done…**

**The first half of my "special project" is posted. It happens to be a prostitute!Blaine fic that I have managed to make Rated T. Think about it… NOW you understand how it took so long. It's pretty angsty… so yay.**

**Also, while this multichapter definitely has precedence over everything else, I am starting another chapter story. It's gonna be one of those cute Klaine hooks Niff up and vice versa things.**

**But mostly about Niff because Nick and Jeff are pretty much more oblivious than Klaine could ever be, even though they're both pretty bad.**

**Lastly, this chapter is oober Niffy. Don't worry, it's about to get really Klaine-y really fast, so I had to shove this in before stuff got real…**

**Good? That was a lot of announcements. Here we go…**

"So… are you two finally together?" Kurt asked as he sat down at the table, and Jeff quickly blushed, looking down to notice just how close he and Nick had been sitting. He had scooted nearer to the brunette when Kurt had walked through the front doors of the Lima Bean, the tension that had followed near forcing him closer to his best friend. Oh, crap, he was practically in the other boy's lap. He cleared his throat.

"Um, no," he answered awkwardly, his collar suddenly extremely itchy. Jeff picked at his tie, while Kurt just nodded solemnly, leaning back in his chair.

"Sad…" Kurt said with a pout, and Jeff noticed how red Nick's cheeks were getting. "Okay, so why am I here?" he asked, and Jeff admittedly wasn't so sure himself. He sort of felt like he was just being dragged around lately. But that was cool. Jeff was used to having no idea what was going on. Especially when it had to deal with Nick, which currently everything did…

"We wanna talk about Blaine," David said, startling Jeff. He had almost forgotten the council member was there. He was leaning forward on his elbows, and Kurt arched an eyebrow.

"I thought we already did," he said, confusion clouding his eyes so darkly, even _Jeff_ could see it. "Where's Wes, then?" Jeff couldn't help but squirm in his seat at the question.

"We decided he shouldn't be here today," Nick said, putting a stilling hand on Jeff's knee. "He's a bit… biased," he said, with an embarrassed smile. Jeff scratched the back of his neck, letting his eyes grow wide. Yeah, Wes was a "bit biased". Leave it to Nick to put something so crazy into such pleasant terms. The senior was practically _insane_, he was so mad at everybody that wasn't a Warbler.

Why did everyone have to hurt them?

Jeff _hated_ how hard everything had to be. Like… how things had to be so difficult that people became nuts like this. Everyone was going crazy, and Jeff was just so, so _sick_ of things not being okay. Every time he thought he found an out, he was dragged into something even more depressing.

Sterling boys generally had a pretty good life, but in –in a lot of ways- Jeff was the exception. It didn't matter if his house had the pool, or if his clothes were all name brand, he… he didn't look right. His brothers were all graced with broad shoulders and masculine jaws and all that crap…

Jeff was called "faery face".

He didn't even _really _look like a girl. Especially not towards the end… but no one seemed to care. Mean nicknames _always_ turn into big things, and middle school… middle school was scary. Middle school was getting beat up for being in the "wrong" bathroom. Middle school was shoves in the locker room where "he didn't belong". Middle school was taunts, and accusations, and fear –so much freaking fear…

And now he was in high school, and there weren't supposed to be bullies, and Nick kept telling him he was perfect, and beautiful, and everything he needed, but it didn't matter because this was _still so hard_. And he was _sick of it_.

Because… because maybe he was a scared little girl, just like everyone always said he was. Right now he didn't feel strong, or courageous, or brave like how Nick always said he was. No one was trying to hurt him this time around, but he was still scared… and he didn't know _why_.

He involuntarily scooted closer to Nick again.

And it wasn't just him, either. People hurt freaking _all_ the Warblers. He didn't really know everything about all the other boys. He had a feeling David did if he ever really had to know… But he wouldn't. Jeff could see the pain in their eyes and the desperation in their actions, and that was overwhelming enough.

He knew a lot about Nick, though… Nick was always with him. Always. And that was good, because _Jeff_ was always with _Nick_. It was a both ways thing, even if Nick didn't always understand that. But through all that… _togetherness_, Jeff had learned a good deal about Nick's life before Dalton, just as Nick had learned his. He knew all about how Nick had basically been abandoned by everyone he knew, and he knew that's what made him so clingy for lack of a better word. Jeff didn't like how his friend could be so messed up and sad because he hadn't known anyone who loved him right before Dalton. He didn't like people hurting at all.

But now wasn't the time for thinking about that. Jeff had zoned out big time, and Nick nudging him in the side brought him back to reality fast. Kurt and David were going back and forth across the little round table they were seated at.

"So you're basically giving me a second chance," Kurt surmised, and David bit his lip, obviously mulling over the cheater's conclusion.

"Not exactly… I don't know… I just… I felt weird leaving it where we did. Like, you actually seem sorry this time, Kurt," David explained, and Jeff watched as the slighter boy seemed to deflate at the words. He did look genuine… "I didn't want to let that go when Blaine truly deserves a proper apology."

"I know he does. I just wanna see him… I feel like… we belong together, and I just have to-"

"No, wait, stop," Jeff interrupted. Maybe it was because he had tuned out, but he was confused. "I don't get it. Why… Why would you do what you did to Blaine? Why… Why would you make him hate himself like that?" He felt tears clog up his throat. He was scared of Kurt. He was scared he'd end up like Blaine: end up in the dark again. He was tired of hating himself; Kurt made people hate themselves. The shorter boy sighed and gave him a sympathetic look that made Jeff's skin crawl.

"Jeff, I didn't mean to, okay?" Kurt asked gently, and Jeff hated how Kurt always talked to him like he was four. Admittedly, Jeff got confused easily and emotional fast, but he went to Dalton. His vocabulary was bigger than a preschooler's. "Sometimes things happen on accident," Kurt explained, and Jeff felt Nick's hold on his knee tighten. "People make mistakes."

"No," Jeff said, mocking the tone Kurt tended to use with him before getting serious and allowing the hurt to creep back into his voice. "People like _us_ make mistakes. You're not… you're not a Warbler anymore, Kurt. Your mistakes aren't innocent. They're not like ours… they don't come with the right kind of apologies." Kurt furrowed his eyebrows together, and Jeff could see an identical look on both Nick and David's faces.

"What are you trying to say?" Jeff frowned.

"I… I think I'm saying… You're…. you're… you're one of _them_, Kurt. You hurt people. You make others hurt because you aren't content enough with yourself, and misery needs company. And you make people hurt so _much_, so they can't even _breathe_, so they can't _function_, and… and you… you…" Jeff stammered, running out of words. A hard pang of realization hit his heart with full force. "You're not _nice_. I can't… I can't… You're a _bully_, Kurt!" he yelped, and Jeff couldn't help but bolt from the table, stomach churning. He couldn't do this; he couldn't be with Kurt; he couldn't let himself be hurt again…

He heard Nick's chair scraping behind him.

* * *

><p>"Jeff... Jeff? <em>Jeff<em>!" Nick called after the blonde, speed walking after him before breaking into a run. His best friend was currently sprinting out of The Lima Bean, and Nick could barely keep up on his shorter legs. He _hated_ this. Dalton should really mention in their brochures that emotional attachments and breakdowns basically came with the schooling.

Because now Jeff was running away, but Nick couldn't just be _alone_, and he couldn't stand Jeff upset because it always ended up making him upset, and he hated hearing about everything Jeff had to go through because Jeff didn't deserve any of it, and there was actually some pretty disturbing stuff hidden in his past that Nick didn't like listening to since the idea of Jeff being in pain hurt him too, plus it reminded him of his own past and…

Crap, Nick couldn't _do this_, actually. He could literally comfort every other person on earth when it came down to it, but Jeff… Jeff was so hard… Every time the blond cried, Nick wanted nothing more than to cry with him. He couldn't even_ do _anything.

"Jeff!" he yelped, snagging the other boys arm as he nearly ran out into traffic. He wrapped an arm around him as the blond struggled to free himself, just managing to drag him to his car, open the door, and throw him in. Jeff was honestly throwing himself at him to break free, but Nick held him down. "Jeff, you calm down right now. _Right. Now_," he said in a voice that made him sound like a worn out elementary school teacher.

"Lemme go! I can't be here! Lemme go, lemme go, _lemme go_!" Jeff shouted as he repeatedly slammed into Nick, trying to push his way out of the car. A bit unthinkingly, he brought his hand up and slapped Jeff across the face. Crap, crap, crap. Nick actually _sucked_ at this.

"Jeff, it's _okay_! Oh, Six, I swear it's okay. Kurt's _Kurt_. He's not Jeremy, or Grant, or Justin, or Alex, or… _whoever_," Nick spat, hating the way Jeff flinched with every name. He didn't want to say any more. "They're not _here_. This is my _car._ This is _me_. And you're _okay_." He was practically begging, and all of a sudden there were tears running down his face and tears running down Jeff's face, and Nick held Jeff close as he stood in the parking lot, the other boy in the passenger seat of his car.

"Nick, I'm- I'm-" Jeff struggled to get the words out, but Nick didn't need to hear what he had to say to know what was on his brain. And it hurt. Because every single thing Jeff was going to say was mean, and cold, and came from a part of him that Nick couldn't stand seeing.

"No, you're not. You're not any of that, I promise, okay? I _promise_. You're stronger than you think, Jeff. You're way stronger than _anything_. You're perfect, okay? You're absolutely fine. Your so, so _perfect_." Nick didn't actually know what he was saying. This was so depressingly _routine_, and Nick just couldn't… _focus_ on these things anymore. "It's okay… you're _okay_. I promise. You're perfect, you're perfect, _you're perfect_, and I love you, okay? So don't worry." Yeah. Nick really didn't know what he was saying. "Don't worry."

"I don't think you should let Kurt see Blaine," Jeff choked, and Nick could tell he had ignored everything he had just said. Whatever. They would talk about this later. Nick knew compliments could sometimes just upset Jeff more…

"I think you made your position pretty clear," Nick said with a laugh, and Jeff couldn't stifle his own giggle, despite the way he was crying. Nick tightened his hold on the other boy. His voice softened. "Don't worry. I won't let him. And I'm pretty sure David is explaining our position as we speak," Nick assured him, head popping up to see Kurt's saddening face through the window of the coffee shop.

"M'kay," Jeff said, steeling himself for the long ride home, the look in his eyes confirming their future talk on this subject. Nick let him go and closed his car door, waving to David before shaking himself up and taking the driver's seat.

"Let's go home, honey."

**Okay. FINALLY! Now let's get our Klaine on! Enough with this Niff. They're not important for, like… ever… KLAINE FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!**


	17. Kept

**Hmm… I'm so silly. Let's just do this chapter and act like I'm as on top of things as I want to be, okay? Good plan.**

**Also, thoughts. Um… Cooper. I'm sort of sad. He was so mean, and I wasn't happy with him. It wasn't… ugh. "I'm sorry, are you talking to me? I can't tell because you're not pointing." But I will admit, he was really funny. "I have intense emotions because I am an intense actor!"**

Kurt Hummel was most definitely not a happy camper, and Sam could tell. David had set him all up and then went and brought him down. Not to mention, he had completely wasted his time, apparently. The frown on his face was evident, the shorter boy not attempting at all to hide it, and Sam's stomach twisted.

He knew that Kurt wanted Blaine. He knew it. All this work, excitement, and depression over the prospect of just apologizing? Yeah, not to mention he was barely acknowledging him, even though they were cuddling on the couch while they watched a movie. Sam had his arms around him, but it was like Kurt wasn't even there. After awhile, he felt him shift in his grasp to reach for the remote. He paused the movie and Sam steeled himself.

"You're breaking up with me," he said, before Kurt could even get a word out of his mouth. He looked surprised.

"How did you know?"

Sam couldn't help but grin sadly. "Because everyone breaks up with me," he answered, and Kurt just nodded. An awkward pause took over the living room. Kurt was sitting next to him on the couch, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees, and Sam was curled up into the cushions. They were so close… but Kurt wasn't touching him. And oddly, Sam didn't really care.

"I'm sorry, it's just… I can't be with you, if I ever want to-"

"Get back with him?" Sam asked, tears clogging up his throat just the slightest bit. He didn't want Kurt, but… But Sam really did wonder when he was going to be good enough. When he was going to find someone who wouldn't leave him for someone else. It was times like these when he thought about becoming White Chocolate full time, cause at least he seemed to get what he wanted, even if it hurt inside.

"Sam… Listen," Kurt said, and Sam continued to give him his attention, even if he really didn't want to. "You don't… you don't want this either. You just wanted attention, and that's okay. So did I," Kurt said earnestly. "But… But I don't think you're even _gay_ actually. I think… I think you just wanted to be loved and to maybe… to maybe get looks in the hallway that you deserve?" Sam felt a shiver run all the way up and down his spine; he felt exposed.

"Kurt, I… I don't know, I just…" Sam tried to collect his thoughts. _Come on, what are you thinking? What are you thinking?_ "People say all kinds of things about me, and about Glee, and about the swim team, and… and…"

"You started to believe them?" Kurt asked, and Sam nodded, fear forcing his lungs to still. Because yes. Yes, he _had_ believed him, and it was weird… weird… weird to think of himself as something other than what people told him. Sam listened to others. But now he was listening to Kurt.

"And you… you love, Blaine?" he questioned, shifting the focus off of himself and effectively making his fresh ex-boyfriend squirm on the sofa. Sam almost didn't want an answer, but… but Sam _knew_ he didn't love Kurt, so he supposed it didn't actually matter if he loved him back or not, it just… you know. Confidence.

"Yeah, I think… I think I do, and…" Kurt paused in his words, anger contorting his face into something terrifying, "And I can't _believe_ I didn't realize it soon enough. I can't… I _hate_ how long it took me to realize that I had… had hurt him like that. I hate how _delayed_ I was. The actual… I'm so _stupid_, he was Blaine, and I… He was _Blaine_, Sam. _Blaine_. And I… I…" Kurt's words had gone from mad and resentful to sad and remorseful. Sam noticed the tears in the other boy's eyes before he did, and made a move to hug him… "Shouldn't this be the other way around?" Kurt asked, and Sam just laughed.

"Maybe." But Sam didn't care that he wouldn't have Kurt. He just… he just cared that Kurt wouldn't care about not having him. "Just… wait. Wait. Do you… am I…" He struggled to find a way to phrase everything he was feeling without sounding like an insecure teenage girl. Luckily, Kurt knew him well enough to fill in the blanks.

"Oh… Oh, no. Sam. You're fine. In fact, you're more than that, you're _fine_," he said in a very Santana like way. "It's just…"

"Blaine," Sam finished for him, and Kurt nodded. Sam felt a bit better at the statement. Wasn't every day he elicited _that_ reaction from people…* He peeled himself away from the smaller boy, glad to have helped him avoid what he would figure to be a complete and total meltdown –because he would probably self destruct had he made the same mistakes- and grabbed his shoes. "Bye Kurt…" he said awkwardly, standing in the door. Kurt got up to see him out.

"Bye Sam! Stay… Stay close, okay?" he asked, and Sam nodded.

"Friends it is."

* * *

><p>Blaine felt a little bit stronger than before. It was just… It was just weird how things were falling together. He… He was just tired of bouncing back, he supposed. After having worked so hard to be happy again, and then to have that joy restriped from him? He just didn't want to have to try for it again. It just felt a bit hopeless… all this striving for happiness… but he was getting better. He was a hard person to keep down for very long, and what with all the Warblers there to pull him out of his fog, he was having a hard time staying negative.<p>

He was walking down the hallway, sheet music in hand as he sang out a couple chords, trying to power through the harmony he would be expected to sing on Friday. Two days to learn a piece… It was almost like Wes hated him. He paused in his music, the sound of familiar voices reaching his ears.

"Wait, what? You talked to him again?" Wes was asking incredulously. Blaine followed the sound of his voice and peeped his head through the emptied English room his friends were occupying. He could just make out the older boy's startled expression. "Well… what did you say? You didn't let him come here, did you?"

"No, no, I just… It didn't feel right, leaving it where he did… It felt kind of mean," David tried to reason. "Plus, I was thinking it might be good to be able to relay how sorry he is or something… I don't know. I just… I don't know…" David trailed off, and Blaine was surprised. He must have definitely done something to potentially upset Wes because he was normally so calm and collected… but now he couldn't get out a sentence.

"Well…" Wes looked completely lost. "Well… It was Kurt. Mean is okay…" he said, and Blaine's breath caught in his throat. What the actual…? "But… What did you say? Is he coming?"

"No, Jeff got upset," Nick said, and Blaine took his first notice of him and his roommate sitting in two of the desks, "And we all sort of realized it would actually be a dumb idea for Kurt to see Blaine. He's not a nice guy anymore. You were right, Wes. We shouldn't trust him."

Blaine's hands shook. Kurt… Kurt was trying to see him? Why? Why wasn't he allowed? What… What were they doing?

Blaine opened the door a little wider, words tumbling from his mouth. "You're keeping Kurt from me?" he asked, to shocked to take note of the way he sent his four friends at least ten feet in the air with his unexpected entrance. He did, however, notice the terrified faces worn by all of them. Wes tried to speak.

"Crap, Blaine, I-"

"Why does he want to see me?" Blaine asked, interrupting. Nick ran a hand through his hair and Jeff let out a puff of air as Wes and David shared a look. Eventually, David sighed, apparently the one to let him in.

"He wants to apologize." Blaine didn't get it.

"Wha~a… What do you… And you're not _letting him_?" Blaine asked, fury building up in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't fair. This was his life, they couldn't… they couldn't keep a person away from him and especially not Kurt. He _needed_ Kurt to apologize, he needed to be with him. They were taking too much control.

"He's not trustable. You can't-"

"No, you know what?" Blaine cut Wes off. "_You_ can't, Wes. You can't keep the person I love away from me. That's not your call… Just… Just who do you think you are?" he asked, and the council member glowered at him.

"I think I'm the one who has cradled you through this whole depression thing, and I'm allowed a little bit of insurance that I won't have to take care of you like this again," Wes said with a glare, and Blain actually couldn't believe his ears.

"So you're throwing that in my face? What the heck…? Wes. This is my. Life. Not yours, and I'm _sorry_ if I was such a burden to you, but that's really not my problem," he said, voice holding every bit of bitterness that Wes's did. He fixed the other boy with his meanest snarl and twirled on his heel for a big dramatic exit.

"Where are you going?" Jeff called from behind, but Blaine didn't turn around.

"To see Kurt!" He called back, striding out of the classroom when he felt a hand leach around his wrist. He turned around, angered to be stopped, when he met eyes with a pair full of tears. Wes had him in his grasp, looking as if he was about to cry. "Wes?" he squeaked, thrown off. What was going on.

"No… Blaine, you can't do that, I… I don't… I can't let you," he said, all traces of fury gone and nothing but fear behind his expression. "He hurt you, Blaine. And he hurt me, and he hurt Jeff, and that hurts David and Nick, and… and everyone can feel it because we hate seeing that sadness in you, Blaine! And we hate seeing it in each other and… and he didn't love you right anyway. You can't… you can't…"

Wes was starting to get hysterical, and Blaine felt guilt pooling in his heart. He ruined everything…. Hurt everyone… "Wes…" But Kurt. "I…"

"Don't go see him, Blaine," Wes said, straightening himself and drying the corners of his eyes with the palm of his hand. Dalton boys were nothing if not dapper. "It won't do anyone any good, and I… I…" he sort of fell apart at the end of the phrase, voice cracking. However, he remained upright, and Blaine took a breath, weighing his options.

"Okay, Wes… I… Okay," he agreed, and the other boy threw his arms around his neck. At least he had gotten one thing right…

***I loved writing that line because actually? That's all Chord/Sam gets from me, and I basically say something along those lines every hour, so… ;D**

**Guys. I still have a chapter of "Love Taps". Oh no… So much to write, so little time….**


	18. Touching

**Okay, you're all probably mad at me, but I have an intense updating schedule for this one, which I'll tell you more about at the bottom… So don't worry.**

Blaine was confused… So confused. He felt like he wasn't in control of his life anymore. All of his friends seemed to be putting their hands all over what was supposed to be his, and Blaine… Blaine just didn't want to be touched anymore. He needed everyone to step off and give him air to breathe, to think, but they were treating him like a mental patient, never leaving his side.

"Excuse me, Mr. Greene?" Blaine raised his hand mid-lecture, "I apologize for interrupting, but may I use the restroom?" he asked, adorning the flawless speech expected of all Dalton students in the presence of an administrator. His teacher simply nodded, immediately diving back into the essential question for the welfare unit they were working on.

Blaine tried not to look too relieved as he darted out of the classroom, hall pass in hand. He just needed to get his thoughts in order… Kurt had upset him, yes? Yes. But there was truthfully no reason for him to be as distressed as he was anymore. At least… not in his eyes. He had courage. He was stronger than this…

But at the same time, it was more than just Kurt. It was him, and his dad, and all those freaking other kids who turned at him at Westerville High School... Every time Blaine got comfortable, he was thrown off of his game again, and it was getting harder to stay focused. To coin a phrase from Demi Lovato, his heart needed a break…

He loved Top 40. Deal with it.

Blaine had just turned into the bathroom, a man true to his word, when someone grabbed his wrist from behind. He whirled around to find Sebastian had a hold on him. He glared at the taller boy. "Shouldn't you still be in Civics? What could you possibly want?" he asked as bitingly as he could manage, which –fitting to his mood- was quite savagely indeed.

"You," Sebastian answered before immediately pressing his lips to Blaine's, the impact jarring. Blaine felt his head being tilted back forcefully. He put his hands up to Sebastian's wrists, fighting to get him off because no one would be coming to save him this time, but the other boy just hugged his arms down, pinning them to his sides.

"Stop," Blaine mumbled onto the other boy's mouth, but Sebastian only took it as an invitation to explore deeper into Blaine's mouth, his tongue exploring every inch, leaving Blaine completely violated. He struggled to get away, leaning backwards as much as he could, but Sebastian just followed, refusing to let up.

Blaine twisted and wreathed. With all of his might, he tried to throw Sebastian off, his arms jerking about despite the other boy's attempts to contain them and his legs putting up as much of a fight as gravity would allow. But Sebastian was everywhere. His lips were constantly atop of Blaine's and on various other parts of his face. Somehow, while he held him together, Sebastian was caressing him at the same time, nails digging into his skin occasionally. He was pressing so hard on Blaine's head that it hurt, but he couldn't break away. Sebastian was there. He was everywhere.

And Blaine gave up.

He couldn't fight anymore. He was scared, and Sebastian's kissing was rough. The other boy seemed to sense the mood change and his hands were suddenly fumbling at the buttons on his shirt and the tie around his neck. His kiss moved to his jaw, traveling down it as he spoke. "You're so _mine_, Blaine. Just let me own you… Just relax." His tone was commanding as it hit his skin, and Blaine felt a few stray tears slip down his cheeks. Sebastian licked them up animalistically. "So, _so_ finally mine."

Blaine squirmed. Sebastian was touching him, and he just wanted him off… Oh gosh, someone _please_ get him _off_. Once again, he found himself pulling away from the other junior, but this time Sebastian's arms wrapped around bare torso, and it stopped Blaine cold. Get him _off!_

The bell had rang, but Blaine was too busy trying to resist the intimacy Sebastian was trying to force on him, his face now cool from the drying spit all over it as Sebastian trailed all over his cheeks and forehead with his mouth. It felt overly practiced and angry… Blaine missed Kurt's innocence and love… Why didn't he love him anymore?

"Sebastian, get off him!" came an extremely familiar yelp, followed by a flurry of hands and arms. Blaine blinked and saw that Nick and Jeff had made it into the bathroom. Nick pushed Sebastian into the opposite corner to get him away from Blaine. He looked down to see Jeff had taken his hand, but the blonde quickly pulled away to help him button his shirt and retie his tie.

"Are you and your girlfriend here to stop me?" Sebastian questioned, and Blaine caught Nick wince as if it pained him to hear the insult, while Jeff remained completely stony faced. Nick crossed his arms.

"First, don't you _ever_ talk about Jeff like that. Second, in answer to your question, yes, and I already have," he replied, looking beyond pissed off, making it all Blaine could do to resist jumping him with a hug. _Thank you for saving me. Thank you so much…_

"Yeah, and why? Jealous that I can manage to get somewhere with Blaine while you fail miserably to get with your little Queen Jeffica?" Sebastian asked, and Blaine watched as both of his friends flushed red. His stomach twisted a little bit… oh gosh, why was this still happening? Why was he still in this godforsaken bathroom? Why did he feel so exposed? Nick, meanwhile, was glowering at Sebastian.

"Jeff, leave," he instructed, not turning to look at him, but the look in his eyes softening a bit with the other boy's name. The blonde looked confused and a little hurt.

"Nick, I-"

"_Leave_," Nick demanded, his tone much harsher than before. Jeff was visibly upset, but Nick still had his sights set on Sebastian. "Take Blaine with you. Give him to Wes, okay? Text him and have him meet you at their dorm. He has study hall, it'll be fine." Jeff nodded somberly, and this time, Blaine took his hand, working with him to drag themselves out the door.

Blaine suddenly realized there were tears streaming down his cheeks. Gah, how long had he been crying like this? He looked at Jeff, who seemed on the brink of tears himself. "I'm so sorry he threw you out…" Jeff just laughed humorlessly.

"It's okay. I'm used to it. I'm sorry Sebastian would do that to you…" Blaine felt a new rush of emotions flood over him.

"Don't talk about it…" he said with a wince. "But seriously, dude, don't stress it." Jeff looked at the ground, cheeks heating up to an alarming shade of pink.

"Blaine, not that there's anything good about what just happened, and not like I blame you for being sad or anything, but at least someone wants you… even if you don't know it yet," he said honestly, and Blaine remembered everything he knew about the other boy's past, it similar in awfulness to his own.

He squeezed Jeff's hand, always the leader, and assured him, "Well, if that's the case, then I think we're in the exact same boat," tears still streaming down his face.

* * *

><p>Jeff paced the length of his dorm, refusing to let a single tear slip down his face because, <em>hell no, <em>he was not going to cry again. Nick obviously didn't want him, that's why he sent him away, and… and he didn't know why that bothered him _so_ terribly, regardless to the fact that they were best friends, but… Ugh. He heard Nick's key fumbling for the doorknob, and he flung himself underneath the covers, closing his eyes with his head on his pillow in what he hoped was a good sleeping pose.

Nick sighed the second he got the door open. "Jeff, I know you're awake. I heard you pacing." Jeff didn't respond orally, instead just flipping over and burying his face in his pillow, hoping Nick would get the point and leave him alone. Instead, the shorter boy sat on his bed. "Now the question is _why_ you would be pacing. Last time I checked, you only did that when you were upset… but you don't _seem_ upset," he said a bit goofily, but Jeff refused to respond. He just wanted him to leave… A hand fell on his shoulder. "Come on, buddy. Let me in."

"Go away," he spoke into his pillow, the words muffled by his sheet. The hand was now rubbing up and down his back, and Jeff shuddered at the contact. He couldn't feel Nick's stare on him, but if he knew the boy at all, he was probably looking out the window. Nick always looked out the window when things got bad… He was pretty sure outside calmed him or something.

"I can't do that, Jeff," he said after a bit, and the blonde could practically _hear_ the gears in his head turning. "I… I'm sorry about what Sebastian said. Just so you know, I brought him to the Headmaster. He'll probably have quite a bit to say…" Jeff stayed quiet. "Okay… so that isn't what had you riled up. If it makes it better, I hadn't thought so. You're stronger than that…" Jeff let out a huff of frustration, rolling over once again and glaring at the brunet between his bangs.

"Why did you want me to leave?" he asked, and Nick look taken aback.

"What?"

"Why did you want me to leave?" he questioned a little louder, and when Nick didn't say anything, he sat up and folded his arms around his middle self-consciously. "Did… did you think I couldn't handle it? Cause… I know I haven't been really keeping it together lately, but… Did you think I wasn't strong enough? I wasn't good enough?" This time Nick stayed quiet, and Jeff felt the tears threaten to spill over even more than before. "Why didn't… Why didn't… Why _don't_… Why don't you want me?" he eventually sputtered out, and Nick looked at him, alarmed.

"Jeff… I don't not want you," he responded quickly, but the words sounded forced to Jeff, and this time, he couldn't help but cry.

"I knew it… oh gosh, I knew it…" His body was shaking, and he was suddenly aware of Nick hugging him. He didn't want Nick to touch him… worthless him, but he couldn't seem to gather up the will to push him away. Not when Nick holding him really did feel just so right…

"No, I just… Jeff. I know you can handle it, and I do want you… You're my best friend. I just… I couldn't handle it." Jeff pulled away a bit an arched an eyebrow at his best friend. Nick immediately stood up, running a hand through his hair and looking completely distressed. "It's just… Jeff. Gosh, I… I couldn't take him saying all those things about you, you're… I do want you. I do. So much that I hate… I hate anyone saying stuff about you that I don't think is right, and… I don't know. I didn't want you there if that's what was going to happen."

Jeff grabbed him from the place he was standing, this time him pulling Nick into a hug. "Okay," he answered quietly, not sure what else to say. Nick squeezed him back, and Jeff felt overwhelmingly happier, especially because Nick called him his best friend and that kind of conformation was much needed.

So why didn't that feel like enough for him?

**Yaaaaaaay. I like the next couple chapters. I'm updating, aside from today, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. So yeah… **

**Chapters tend to be better when I want to write them, so if you all wouldn't mind throwing out a review… ;D I might be more inclined to do well. **


	19. Comforting Thoughts Torn Apart

**Before you beat me, I'm giving you only 500 words for Nick this chapter. 1500 for Blaine. How's that. Perfect? I'm about to get real with him, so be amped. I just want Nick to get out of the way first…**

Nick wasn't sure how they ended up the way they did. All he knew is that Jeff had his arm pinned to the mattress with his torso and didn't seem to be moving any time soon. In fact, Nick was sure he wouldn't be, soft snores emanating from his roommate who was currently curling into his chest. He looked so peaceful, while Nick himself was a complete and utter mess.

He didn't know what had been going on with him lately. It seemed like every single thing Jeff did sent butterflies into his stomach, and it was getting weird; he was getting weird… Nick had been picturing the blond when he sang love songs for Pete's sake. What was that even about? His fingers laced though Jeff's hair absently as he basically had an existential war with himself. Who was Nick without Jeff? And, better question, who would Nick be _with_ Jeff. Like… what if Jeff and him ever got, like… together. Like, _together_ together?

Nick's stomach was churning just with the thought. He didn't like that idea. Well… it's wasn't _bad_, but there was too much to go wrong. Being with Jeff would be scary; the threat of it going down hill would forever be over their heads.

But that didn't change how Nick felt.

He had been on the brink of saying he had loved Jeff earlier. He had. And he didn't know if he was happy he had stayed quiet or not… It had taken him a good bit of time for Nick to figure everything out, and it wasn't until recently that he had, but Nick hated keeping secrets from Jeff. He never did, and this felt weird.

However, it seriously hadn't been for long. It was Sebastian that actually helped him figure it out just a couple hours ago. Nick had really hated him saying all those things about Jeff, and maybe… maybe it was just how _much_ he hated it that had him figure it all out… but now? Now being this close to Jeff was a little too hard. Stupid Sebastian…

Seriously. Stupid Sebastian.

How could a single human being be so completely revolting? What person would… would do something like _that_ to another? Blaine… Blaine had already been through hell and back twice, why… Why would he…? Ugh. Nick just didn't get it. The other boy appeared to be constantly out for blood. It didn't make sense.

He hoped Blaine was okay…

* * *

><p>Blaine remembered Jeff immediately placing him into Wes's awaiting arms, but he couldn't seem to feel him anymore. Blaine felt completely <em>alone<em>. He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was sobbing, and he was pretty sure it was getting impossible for him to breathe, but… but he just couldn't _feel_. He could feel anything that he was supposed to, that he normally could. It was like his whole body was numb, and he couldn't take it.

Shit, did that just _happen?_ Blaine shook his head back and forth as fast as he could, not able to feel the air whipping on his tear-soaked cheeks, but he was still hoping that somehow it would clear away the memory of being touched there, and there, and _there.._. The whole thought of it had his brain crawling, and Blaine was suddenly happy his body was numb. He didn't want to feel where Sebastian's lips touched.

All at once, Blaine ached for Kurt. Kurt knew what this felt like… Kurt could understand. He had always been able to get him. Plus, David Karofsky had kissed him in a nonconsensual way once.

Oh, _shit_…

Nonconsensual.

The word immediately forced everything to feel so much more _real_. It made Blaine feel dirty, and wrong, and –shit, shit, shit- had he just been raped? Is that what that was? He didn't even know… Blaine curled his fists into what he was assuming to be Wes's blazer, but he couldn't feel anything and he couldn't see anything, he was crying so hard, and he didn't really care to.

Maybe this was just a sign that he would eventually just _completely_ deteriorate, and then he wouldn't have to _deal with this_ anymore. His sobs weren't anywhere close to subsiding, each one attached with a heave of his chest that made his head hurt. The difficulty of his breathing was growing into a problem he couldn't ignore, and crowded as his mind was, it eventually had to become the center of his attention_._

_Bam!_

The second his thinking switched to something substantial, the whole world zoomed back into surface. The noise level of the room was deafening, thanks to his sobs, and Wes had at some point maneuvered them onto a bed. He had been plopped into the older boy's lap, and Blaine just wasn't sure what to do with himself.

Of course, that didn't matter. He couldn't do anything anyway, he was crying so hard. Ugh, what was this? What was anything? It may be a little over dramatic, but Blaine was about at the point where he felt like his entire life was a sham. God had really given him the short end of the stick… Kangaroo court indeed…

Wes had a tight grip around him, and Blaine noticed how deep he had fallen into him. His hands were twisted up into the other boy's lapel, knuckles white. He couldn't see Wes's face, but he knew he was probably scared. He could feel tension in his shoulders under his head, and he figured that Jeff's brief explanation probably hadn't been enough for him.

But he wasn't going to go there again. Never. He didn't even want to think about not talking about it. He just wanted to not… think. Ever again, thank you very much. As confused as he was, he didn't want to admit to anything having happened in the first place.

"Blaine-a-bee…" Wes whispered into his hair, and Blaine couldn't help but melt a little bit. He knew a bit better than anyone that Wes hated to be called a mama bear, but… but he really was. Not in a bad or teasable way, he just… he really cared. And God knows how badly he needed someone to care.

"I… I…" Blaine's mouth refused to work with him. He wanted to talk to Wes, tell him not to worry, that he was okay… That's who he was. He couldn't forget about how those around him felt, but apparently he could be physically unable to do anything about it. He was trembling, but the more he tried to stop, the worse it got.

"Don't fight it," Wes instructed him reasonably, and Blaine let his muscles relax, shaking considerably less but still jerking about noticeably. "It's okay, buddy. I won't let him touch you again. None of us are going to; you don't have to worry. I promise, okay?" he asked like he had said the words a thousand times, and Blaine realized he probably had. He just hadn't acknowledged it.

"I…"

"Don't worry," he repeated, but Blaine couldn't… he couldn't just _do_ that. Sebastian had touched him, and… and… and suddenly the world had slipped out from beneath him again as he set off on another wave of sobbing. He couldn't feel, he couldn't feel, he couldn't feel, he couldn't _breathe_… "Come back to me, Blaine!" Wes's voice filtered through his head, and he tried to focus on a proper inhale, successfully sending him back to reality.

"He was everywhere Kurt was supposed to be, Wes," he wailed, tears slipping down his face, Wes making a feeble attempt to wipe them away with is already soaking hands. Apparently a lot happened when Blaine spaced out…

"I know, buddy. It's gonna be okay… you'll find someone who's gonna have you forever to touch you there instead…" he somehow managed to choke out, and Blaine gagged on his tears. He couldn't handle this anymore, oh crap… His chest heaved with every breath and his head hurt like someone was stabbing him, specifically right behind his eyes.

"_Everywhere_, Wes. Like… L-like I w-w-wan'ed it," he stammered, and the hold Wes had on him tightened impossibly. He buried his face somehow further into the crook of his neck. "I just… I hate him. I hate him so much." A low, guttural sound came from the back of Wes's throat.

"So do I. I freaking hate everybody."

Blaine snickered, and the idea of him laughing sent him into further hysteria until he was actually rolling on the floor giggling. He didn't care that Wes was looking at him like he was crazy. He didn't. Because it was just too funny. His life was just such a joke; it was to damn funny. How wasn't Wes laughing? This was _ridiculous_. A fresh bough of tears hit him out of nowhere, and he was sitting on the floor alone, crying.

"It's not funny," he said sadly, and Wes just nodded because it was true, and Blaine cried harder. "It's so not funny." He didn't know what he was doing. His emotions were all over the place and he couldn't actually… He couldn't _deal_ with this right now. He couldn't. There was too much to handle, and he was… he was so hurt and broken, and… and why did things happen this way? Why did it all go wrong at once?

"I don't think this is gonna be one we laugh at when we look back on it someday," Wes agreed solemnly and Blaine collapsed into another fit of giggles. He couldn't do this… Oh gosh, he couldn't do this.

"Wes, I… I…" he shook his head, tears still falling in sheets down his face but he was still laughing, "I can't… I can't handle this," he stammered out, and Wes got down on the ground. His hand latched onto one of his ankles.

"No, you don't appear to be." Blaine sobered up at his words. Wes bit his lip, obviously about to say something else. "Blaine… Blaine, you know I'm here for you. I think I've made it pretty obvious… and I know I might have broken your trust the other day, but… but I'm _so_ sorry about that, Blaine-a-bee," he said, voice cracking. "I am so, _so_ sorry. I don't want a single other reason for you to be upset, and… and I'm so sorry about not telling you. I'm so sorry for seemingly giving up on you. I think you can do this Blaine, just… just don't give up yourself," he begged, and Blaine didn't know what to do.

"It's okay, Wes…"

"No. It's not… I should have saved you again today, and I wasn't there… Jeff was the one to walk you back up here, and… crap, Blaine, I'm so sorry," Wes was visibly upset, but he was obviously trying to stay strong for Blaine, something that he quite appreciated because he was still a sniveling mess on the hardwood.

"But I'm… I'm gonna be okay, Wes. It just… it just hurts _now_," he assured him, and Wes didn't look pleased or comforted by the statement. He snatched up Blaine's hand anyway.

"I promise to make sure of that, Blaine."

**Awesome? Look at me. I screwed up with Niff, but I still am getting my Delayed Regret done on time!**


	20. Break Downs

**Ugh. In school, I'm supposed to head all of these clubs and make plans for all these meetings… **

**So that doesn't happen. **

**Some nice words instead?**

"David…?" a voice squeaked from the doorway, and the Warbler secretary whirled around to see Wes standing half in, half out of his room. It was well after midnight, obviously lights out, so David was confused to see him out of his dorm. "Can I come in?" he asked, moving forward a bit, and the tracks of his tears shone in the light of his desk lamp. "I know you're probably working on that physics lab report…"

"No, no, it's fine," he answered quickly, throwing some stuff off of his bed so Wes could sit on the end, him remaining in his desk chair, wincing at all the papers thrown about his room. Wes hadn't been wrong about the lab report… "What's up?" The other head council member immediately sighed in response, burying his face in his knees.

"Something happened to Blaine," he said sadly. Too sadly. David's heart immediately constricted as he waited for Wes to continue. Blaine didn't need anything else. Heck, _he_ didn't need anything else. David was stressed out enough as it was. "He… Sebastian… Sebastian _touched_ him, like… he made out with him when Blaine didn't want him to, and… and now…" Wes couldn't talk, he was crying so hard, and David immediately threw himself at the other boy, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"It's okay, don't worry… He's going to be fine," David lied because, well, what with the way things were going… Wes continued furiously composed himself, pulling away and straightening his blazer with a quick swipe under both eyes to dry his cheeks. He was visibly upset, but leave it to Wes to be the one who _had_ to look collected all the time…

"He was so worked up… He wouldn't stop crying, and, like… I don't even know. At one point he was _laughing_. Twice, he just sat on the ground and laughed, and… _crap_, David. What do you do?" he asked rhetorically. They both knew he didn't have any of the answers. "What should I have done?"

"I'm sure you did everything you could have, Wes," David assured him, but his friend just flopped back on his bed, throwing his hands up to the ceiling.

"And I've never been more guilty," he said before letting them drop onto his chest. He drummed his fingers over his heart. "I had been keeping Kurt from him, and I defied his trust, and I thought… I thought I had been doing something good, but I was _wrong_, and now… I'm worried he won't trust any of us, especially with everything that happened, and… Gah, I said sorry, but now what do I do?" he questioned and David shrugged.

"I think you have everything handled. He fell asleep with you there, right? That's saying something." Wes rolled over on the mattress, burying his face into his pillow.

"No, he _didn't_," Wes groaned, and David arched an eyebrow. Then where the heck was Blaine? Wes wouldn't have left him by himself; he was probably a _mess_. "Trent's babysitting him. I couldn't handle it anymore, and I don't even think he knew I was there in the first place, so it's probably fine," he huffed. David let out a sigh of relief. As long as Blaine was okay…

Tears were rolling down Wes's face again, hidden by the folds of the blankets around him, but David could still see. His stomach flipped a bit. He couldn't imagine having been there when Blaine came back to the dorm. David understood why Wes left; he probably would have needed a break, too. In fact, he'd probably be on the verge of a nervous break down. Blaine was kind of scary; he was so upset, lately.

"Are _you_ okay?" he wondered aloud, and Wes threw a flippant hand in his direction.

"It's whatever…" he answered, and David fought back a growl, settling on clearing his throat. Wes really needed to stop worry about others so much that he forgot to worry about himself. He put a tentative hand on Wes's shoulder so the other boy turned to look at him. He locked eyes with the other boy.

"Seriously. Are you okay?" he asked, and Wes let out a puff of frustration.

"Well, whaddya _want_ me to say? That I'm terrified about what's been going on with my baby lately? That I'm depressed because _he's_ depressed? That I'm tired? That I can't do this anymore? I can't say any of those things, David. Blaine's too important for that, and I… I…" he broke off, sobbing out of no where, and David pulled him up into a hug.

"Yeah, you can… you can to me, okay? I'm worried about you… You seem so upset…" Wes just nodded into his shoulder when his vibrating cellphone shook the whole bed from his pocket. He pulled it out, eyes widening at the caller ID –_Trent -_ and immediately picked up.

"Hello? Trent? Is Blaine al- Oh, _shit_. Okay… Okay, okay, okay. I'll be there in a couple seconds; I'm coming with David right now… I'm so sorry. Okay, I'll be right there." He ended the call and looked up to him with scared eyes. "Blaine's going crazy."

* * *

><p>Trent didn't know what to do.<p>

He _always_ knew what to do, like tackle Kurt that one-day and then beat the shit out of his car. He knew just what kind of sass to throw out when the situation called for it, and how to phrase everything he was thinking. He was good in the moment. Sometimes he got slightly crazy under pressure, but Trent always pulled through in the end. But right now…

Trent didn't know what to _do_.

Blaine had started off easy enough. He sat on his bed and they talked about musicals, the worst of his tears having subsided a while ago. However, Trent must have said something to set him off because now he was up and about, most definitely not all right, tugging the drawers out of the room's desks and dressers and dumping their contents to the floor before throwing them to the ground.

Anger contorted his face, drenched with tears, as he threw things around and let paper rain down not surprisingly. The occasional pencil would whiz by Trent's ear, and he suppressed a squeal each time. He thought that Blaine might tire himself out after a couple minutes, but no… he just kept going.

And _going_.

Trent swore under his breath when he realized that Blaine was leaving the dorm. The younger boy flung the door open and stormed down the hallway, only pausing to kick the wall when he was too frustrated to walk anymore. Trent scurried after, watching as he made his way to Warbler hall. Okay, time to end things. He dragged his cell out of his pocket. He called Nick first and then Jeff, hoping the former would come and relax Blaine so Wes could rest, but neither answered. He gave in and dialed the head council member's number.

"Hello?" Wes answered, and Trent suddenly realized that he had been holding his breath as he sucked in a big gulp of air. "Trent? Is Blaine al-"

"Wes, we're in Warbler hall. He trashed your room, and now he's," Trent paused as Blaine flipped over a desk chair. "He's still freaking out down here. I don't… I don't know what to do. Can you come?"

"Oh, _shit. _Okay… okay, okay, okay," Wes answered, and Trent could tell he was stressed. "I'll be there in a couple seconds; I'm coming with David now." Trent watched as Blaine swiped the desk at the head of the room free of objects with a furious grunt, pushing over the table with a great heave.

"Awesome, you might want to hurry…" he said a bit passively. "He's sort of going ape up in here…" Wes seemed to shudder on the other end of the line.

"I'm so sorry. Okay, I'll be right there," Wes told him before hanging up, hopefully to run down and meet them. Trent stuffed his phone back in his pocket and took a seat on the couch as Blaine collapsed on the other one, having turned over both coffee tables and now out of things to mess up, kicking and hitting it with all his might.

In a couple of seconds, Wes and David burst into the room, eyes widening at the destruction Blaine had caused before looking to the tantruming boy himself. Wes immediately rushed over to him as David started picking up some things around the room, right siding the table and tidying up the other items on the floor.

"Why is he so upset?" Wes asked frantically, looking to Trent, but he just shrugged. He had no idea. The other boy glared at him before turning back to Blaine, pushing his loose, curly hair out of his eyes and whispering quiet things down to him. Whatever he said seemed to be magic because Blaine stilled instantly, no longer kicking or punching.

"How did you do that?" he asked in awe, and Wes just shook his head, taking Blaine's hand and helping him off the couch. Trent watched as the older boy threw and arm around his shoulders.

"I don't know…" he answered and led Blaine away, leaving Trent speechless and with a long night ahead of him with David to put the room back in order… Trent sighed… he wanted to be in the Warblers…

**Sort of short, but hey! Another chapter. Yay!**


	21. Warbler Set List

**Okay, so yesterday I wanted to go ham with writing, and I didn't get to. *****weeps openly**** * However, I did get to paint, which was fun; and I did my physics homework, which was not fun; and I went shopping, which I actually didn't want to do.**

**Today it is Saturday, but I still had to wake up at 8 AM, and am therefore sort of grumpy, but I feel bad for not writing, so I'm going to throw up a chapter of this and then probably get some Niff done… Yay!**

Kurt Hummel didn't know what the next step was. He just wanted Blaine… But where to go from here? Admittedly, Kurt was sort of a spoiled kid. When life had screwed him over and killed his mom, his dad had sort of stepped in to make up for it and got him everything he could want. But now Kurt wanted something he didn't know if he could get…

But he would make it happen anyway.

Because Kurt knew he messed up. A little too well, actually. You know how when someone tells you a secret, when you look back it feels so obvious? Well, Kurt was looking back, and everything had been really clear. Like, oh-my-gosh-how-could-you-not-have-noticed-that clear. It made him want to facedesk more than anything, but it also made Kurt feel extremely guilty.

Like, really? How could he of all people not have figured it out when Blaine saw he was pulling away? He should have realized with all the fancy dates and all the little things he said. _"Kurt, do you that maybe you'd like to come over tonight? I'll try to make it perfect, I promise."_ Gah, what? Kurt had actually let him say that so uncertainly? It had gotten to that point? And what made things worse is that Kurt didn't think he had said yes… _"You look great today, Kurt. Maybe… maybe you could help me with how I look? I don't want to look bad with you, or for you, or anything…_" And really? Kurt hadn't read into that at _all_? He should have seen; he should have been paying attention! There was so much… wrong with that statement that he just… allowed. He should have stopped Blaine then and there and… _complemented_ him or something… _"I just want to be perfect for you, Kurt._"

_Oh_.

And that made it all make sense… It made sense what Blaine had been doing. He had been running himself to the bone for him, trying to be perfect… and that wasn't fair. Kurt had been asking too much of him, and then… then he must have stopped eating because he had been way too thin in that picture… Kurt had made Blaine scared and tentative around him; that he remembered, he had been told…

Kurt's skin crawled. He saw what Jeff saw in him… what Blaine refused to see in him. He was a bully… He hurt people and he didn't care. He made things hard for Blaine, and that wasn't right. He made him scared, and he made him run, and… and, _shit_, he had made him cry, and he hadn't even done anything about it. He let Blaine catch him with Sam, when he should have just ended it. He shouldn't have started it…

Kurt's heart clenched with regret at just the thought of Sam Evans. He had never made a bigger mistake in his life…

And you know? Blaine must have known. All that time ignoring him… Blaine must have realized that all of his attention was going to their own resident trouty mouth. Crap, what had he been _doing_? Was he really that naïve? And why hadn't Blaine called him out? Kurt's stomach churned because he knew why. He knew it was because Blaine loved him in the right way. He loved him in the "forever" kind of way, and he had wanted to give him the chance to fix things… Blaine had wanted to give him the opportunity to pick the right guy.

To pick _Blaine_.

And unfortunately, Kurt had picked the right guy. He had just picked him too late… and now what was he supposed to do? He had to figure _something_ out, right? He couldn't let the world's most perfect boyfriend slip between his fingers, could he? No. He couldn't.

Kurt just wasn't seeing how he could possible make that happen. Blaine was perfect, but he was the _worst_. At this point, Kurt wasn't even sure if he had anything to bring to the table anymore. He had actually ruined _everything_ without thinking. He hadn't been fair to _himself_, and Kurt was nothing if not self-centered on occasion. He had to figure something out, but what was there to do?

The Warblers had made it quite obvious that they didn't want him to see Blaine, and maybe that was kind of fair. He wasn't currently known for doing nice things for the other boy. But… but that didn't mean he didn't want to make things right. It didn't mean that he didn't love Blaine.

Kurt really did love Blaine. He loved him, and he hadn't love Sam. Sam felt good when they were pressed together, but the idea of Blaine just felt right all the time. Kurt loved his little hands and the way he could never keep them still when he sang. He loved the emotion he put behind a song because Blaine had felt it all before and needed to get it out. He loved how you could see the Filipino in him in his jaw line when he moved his head just so. He loved how he really would do anything for him, but he hated it cause he didn't deserve that.

Kurt knew it was a long shot, but he wanted Blaine back. The only question was how…

* * *

><p>"Feelin' fly and fine, BA?" Flint asked with a friendly snicker as he took the seat next to Blaine in the Warbler commons. He had always thought his initials were funny… Lately, all of his fellow Warblers had been doing their best around him, and –like it or not- their efforts were definitely managing to lift his spirits. Also, they hadn't been <em>touching him<em> lately. At all. And after what had happened last week, that was probably for the best… Blaine didn't want to be touched. He was Kurt's… He was supposed to be for Kurt only. He offered up a weak smile.

"Feeling relatively fly… you know. For a white guy," Blaine said, naturally starting the whole room off into a chorus, belting out their parts to the song before a banging of the gavel from Wes had them seated and silenced.

"If you wouldn't mind, fellow Warblers, we would like to start today's meeting," his roommate addressed the boys. He cleared his throat and looked down at the notes for the day's practice. "So, to set us off, after much deliberation, the council as decided on a set list for this year's Festival of Music. We plan on taking home every award yet again this year, so please start looking over your music and have it memorized before next meeting," Wes instructed, passing out folders filled with sheet music. The second Blaine got his hands on one, he opened it up and read through the set list.

The first was Bruno Mars's "Grenade" and the arranging was genius. Blaine had luckily auditioned for a solo two weeks ago when he was in a semi-decent mood, and he was seriously hoping for to get his one. The second was a mash up of "Gone", "Love Song", and "On Bended Knee" that Blaine had a mini heart attack to while reading through it. The song looked amazing, and it would sound so cool with everyone's voices… yes. The last was "We R Firework" which was a rather incredible looking Ke$ha and Katy Perry mix. Okay, Blaine lied. He wanted that one. Especially because there were about fourteen million _ja_'s in the other parts, and Blaine didn't think he could handle it without tripping over the words.

He looked up and saw all of his fellow Warblers looking at Wes anxiously, and Blaine realized he was just as hopeful as the rest of them. He was really longing for a solo. He didn't know how lucky he would be though, due to being a freaking emotional wreck (he had trashed the entire room because Trent had brought up P!nk and he thought of Kurt… he was obviously in a bad head space) and having left last year. Still, he crossed his fingers.

"And as you've all been waiting for, 'Grenade' will go to Warbler Nick as well due to his spectacular job with Uptown Girl, and will be our Warbler piece. The second song will go to Warblers Nick, Jeff, and Thad because it needs singers, plural. Nick, you'll handle 'Love Song', Jeff will have 'Gone', and Thad can take 'On Bended Knee.' Lastly, 'We R Firework' will be Warbler Blaine's. Any questions? Good. Now, on the topic of uniforms…" Wes continued to speak, but Blaine couldn't hear it.

He got the solo!

Before he realized it, a real, tangible smile had crept up on his face. It shouldn't have taken something like this to prove that the other Warblers still wanted him around, but… but this just _felt_ right, really. He was still one of them. They still loved him, and they weren't kicking him out.

The second the meeting adjourned, Blaine flew out of his seat and threw himself at Wes. "Thank you. Thank you so, so much!" he yelped, squeezing his roommate's middle as tight as possible. Wes hugged him back.

"Good, I'm glad you're happy. I just… I wanted you to know that… that I want what's best for you, and I'm sorry if I ever made you question that," he apologized out of nowhere, so Blaine just held him tighter.

"It's fine, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Not a problem, Blaine-a-bee."

**IMPORTANT: Guys, don't worry. My set lists? ALWAYS REAL. I'll never give you a song that you can't listen to. The giant mash up is by Sam Tsui (he does all the layers). "Grenade" is by Seth Johnson (and his buddy does the layers), and the last is by Melohouse. So go youtube that crap and ENJOY! Btw, I spent like… thirty minutes on that list, looking for the most Warbler-y of all songs. I hope you're all pleased ;D **

**And that's also nice for all you fellow lovers of a cappella music. If you want some more people, hit me up! I gotch you. **


End file.
